BERNARDSTON, Mass. - Facing an eight-stroke deficit after the opening round, the Mount Holyoke College golf team shot an incredible 331 on day two to claim victory at the 2014 Liberty League Championship, hosted at the Crumpin-Fox Club. It is the first title for the Lyons, who joined the conference in the fall of 2012. MHC saw all five of its players earn All-League honors, including First Team selections Madi Mendiola, June Conti and Heeamin Lee.
Mendiola (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) paced the finishers for Mount Holyoke, earning second overall with a combined score of 161 - just one stroke out of first place. She shot an 81 on day one and dropped in an 80 during the second round. Mendiola has now garnered First Team honors in each of the last two seasons, finishing fifth at last year's event.
Conti (Amenia, N.Y./Miss Porter's School), a first year, stormed back from ninth place on day one to finish fourth overall. Posting a combined score of 168, she shot an 81 on day two after recording an 87 in the opener.
Additionally, Lee (Chesnut Hill, Mass./Brookline) finished the tournament in fifth overall to seal up her First Team honors. After shooting an 84 on day one, she recorded and 86 in the final round for a combined score of 170.
Rounding out the outstanding effort for the Lyons were first years Amanda Lee (Windsor, Conn./Ethel Walker) and Allison Shilling (New Canaan, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall), who both tied for 10th overall with a combined score of 179 to earn All-Conference Second Team honors.
Lee shot a solid 84 on day two after posting a 95 on day one. is locked in a tie for fifth after posting a score of 84. Shilling shot 90 on day two after posting a score of 89 on day one.
Earning medalist honors was St. Lawrence's Claire O'Neil, who posted a score of 160 (76-84) to edge out both Mendiola and NYU's Kristina Shalhoup, who each had a 161.
The Lyons finished with the victory, posting a combined score of 672, which was 21 strokes better than second-place finisher NYU. The Violets, who held the lead after day one and were the defending champions, finished with a score of 693. St. Lawrence finished third with a score of 714, followed by Wellesley (747), Vassar (754), William Smith (796) and Union (946).
Mount Holyoke has now concluded the regular season and will be waiting for the field of teams selected to the NCAA Tournament to be released in the coming week.
Photos courtesy of Lori Hendricks, Mount Holyoke Athletic Director.
