RAPID CITY, S.D. – Sydney Cox captured the NAIA individual women's golf championship, while Ashley Sholer took runner-up honors as Oklahoma City University finished with its fifth consecutive team championship Friday at Meadowbrook Golf Course.
Cox finished three strokes ahead of Sholer. The top-ranked Stars shot 302-311-302-313–1,228 to end 33 shots ahead of Bethel (Ind.).
OCU coach M.J. Desbiens became NAIA coach of the year for the second year in a row. The Stars picked up six tournament wins this season. OCU won the Sooner Athletic Conference championship and finished with four wins in its last five events.
“The hard work throughout the year has paid off,” Desbiens said. “You can't have a bigger gift for a coach with those two finishing like they did and with all three seniors finishing all-tournament. We were in a great position bringing three seniors plus Laura Jones who's competed in this and Morgan Gay, who has experience on a national level.”
Cox, a senior from Edmond, Okla., fired a 77-73-73-74–297. Cox took her fourth career victory and bookended her college career with individual titles. She won the Southern Nazarene Invitational in her collegiate debut. Cox made all-tournament in NAIA Championships for the second time and finished 11 strokes ahead of defending champion Shanna Page of Bethel.
“I'm pumped,” Cox said. “I did exactly what I wanted. If I controlled my attitude and emotions the final day, I knew I'd have it. When I had that first bogey, I turned around and had a birdie. When I had a bad hole, I came back, and it kept my momentum going.”
Friday, Cox buried birdies on No. 4, No. 6 and No. 15. No. 15 is a par-5, 471-yard hole, while the fourth and sixth holes are par-4s. She overcame three bogeys and a double bogey in the final round. Cox sank 10 birdies in the tournament, including four in the second round Wednesday. She birdied No. 4 and the par-4 14th hole twice each during the four rounds.
“I pulled my drive,” Cox said of the 15th hole. “I laid up and didn't go for it. I committed to my third shot and put it six feet near the hole. I hit the putt dead straight. My main goal was to win a team championship. I happened to get myself a title along the way. I went out with a bang.”
Sholer, a senior from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, shot a 76-77-73-74–300. She had three birdies Friday, 12 birdies for the tournament. Sholer took all-tournament honors in the NAIA Championships for the third time in her career. Sholer won the individual champion as a freshman and tied for third as a junior.
Sholer and then-OCU teammate Toni Pyrum finished as individual champion and runner-up in 2006. Emily Albrektson won the 2005 NAIA individual title competing for OCU.
No other NAIA institution has more than two women's golf team titles. Only Methodist (N.C.) and Rollins (Fla.) have won as many as four consecutive national women's golf crowns. Methodist has won 11 consecutive national titles – two in NCAA Division II and nine in NCAA Division III.
Temperatures were in the mid-50s, and winds were up to 28 mph on the par-72, 6,000-yard course. Conditions varied for each hole. The Stars believed they were prepared for whatever conditions they would face in the national tournament.
“The big difference for us was being able to play in those conditions,” Desbiens said. “Conditions were so bizarre today. It was 60 degrees with somewhat of calm wind on one hole. The next hole was 50 degrees with wind blowing 50 mph. The wind was brutal, but that's what we have played in. It was a big buildup this year. Suffering through 36 holes in tough conditions at the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic made us mentally stronger.”
OCU trailed by five strokes through 18 holes, but responded by recording the low round each day.
“Everybody was excited," Cox said. "Last year we fought to the final day. We were really excited with three seniors on this team. We wanted it bad. On the second day, we knew the forecast was windy, but we were excited. We knew we play our best in that. It set us up the rest of the tournament.”
Christina Cung became the first golfer to be a part of five NAIA women's national championship teams. Cung and former teammate Tamara Campbell were part of OCU's previous four national-title teams. Cung redshirted in 2005-06.
Cung, a senior from Fort Worth, Texas, recorded a 73-81-78-83–315. Cung finished tied for 13th to be all-tournament in the NAIA Championships for the third time in her career.
Jones, a sophomore from Cheshire, Ellesmere Port, England, carded a 76-80-80-82–318. Jones ended in a tie for 20th place. Jones took the Sooner Athletic Conference individual championship this season.
Gay, a junior from Lindsay, Okla., posted a 77-81-78-86–322 for OCU. Gay finished tied for 30th place. Gay also contributed to Redlands winning the NJCAA championship last year.
OCU won its 36th national championship in all sports, all since 1985-86. OCU has won a national title each year since 1994. The Stars won the women's wrestling championship earlier in 2008-09.
Results
