MEDAL MATCH PLAY QUARTERFINALS
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - For the second round in a row, No. 11 Henderson State used a furious rally on the back-nine to come within inches of reaching the National Semifinals, but eventually lost by one stroke to the defending National Champions and the WGCA's No. 1 team Dallas Baptist Patriots.
After trailing 4-1-0 at the turn,
Allie Bianchi and
Lily Nelson came all the way back to win and tie their match, respectively, as the two teams stood at a deadlock, 2-2-1. With the tie, the overall cumulative winning margin of the teams' five players went the way of DBU, seven to six.
In her final collegiate round,
Daphney Tilton delivered her best 18 holes of golf of the Championships, carding a 1-under 71, winning her head-to-head match by five strokes. Fellow fifth-year senior
Allie Bianchi carded the second best round for the Reddies with a 2-over 74 as she won her match by one stroke.
Lily Nelson matched Bianchi with a 2-over 74 as Nelson was the main catalyst for the 11th-hour rally. Trailing by two strokes with three holes to play, the Commerce City, Colorado, native made clutch par putts on her 16th and 18th hole while DBU saw a pair of bogeys to finish in a tie, leaving the overall match to margin of victory across the five players.
Jinna Boonbumroongsuk and
Felisa Sajulga recorded rounds of 2-over 74 and 7-over 79 to complete their National Championships run.
Henderson State finishes the 2023-24 season after capturing its fourth consecutive GAC Title, its third straight Central Region Championship and placing sixth or better nationally for the second consecutive season.
Individually, HSU boasted the GAC individual champion, the NCAA Women's Golf Elite 90 Winner, a First Team All-American, four All-Conference selections, three All-Region honoree and a National All-Tournament recipient.
