Women’s golf wins inaugural A-10 Championship

The Spiders walked onto the Grand Cypress Golf Club as the newcomers to the Atlantic 10. 

With everything on the line, the University of Richmond women’s golf team used every ounce of strength in the inaugural A-10 Championship April 17 to 19 to take home a trophy. 

The first round was rocky for the Spiders, particularly on the front nine. Numerous small lakes, sand bunkers scattered throughout and tricky greens made it difficult to pick up low scores. Richmond carded six double bogeys and a double par before reaching the back half of the course. 

Junior Olivia Wilkie led the team with a 3-under-par that tied her for second individually. She soared through the back nine, tallying a 1-under-35. 

"I'm just trying to lead by example this week," Wilkie said in a press release after the round. "Be vocal in moments when it counts but not too overbearing. At the end of the day, the girls all know what to do."

As a team, Richmond fell into third place, shooting a 29-over-par 317. The University of Dayton and Loyola University Chicago led the Spiders, but Richmond was prepared to battle for the top spot on the podium. 

"We still have two more days and we can fight back," Head Coach Calle Barlow said in a press release after the round. "[Junior] Hannah [Lydic] said it will really be a telling sign of who we really are."

Lydic stayed true to her word, not shying away from the course as she came back strong for round two. Carding a 1-under-par round, the lowest of the tournament, jumped her into a tie for first place. 

"My round today was more patient. I was able to trust myself and my line,” Lydic in a press release following the round. "Coach [Barlow] and I worked really hard on the range afterwards yesterday and on the range this morning to just dial in my aim and what the line really looks like when I'm over the ball and that really helped me a ton today."

Sophomore Maya Beasley trailed just behind her with a 4-over-76. All of the Spiders dialed in, recording the lowest team score of the day. While Richmond entered the day 13 shots behind first place, the gap had now tightened to only five shots. Everything would need to be perfect if the Spiders were going to close the gap in the remaining 18 holes. 

Round 3 was perfection indeed, Richmond carding a 12-over-300 that marked the lowest score of the entire tournament. The low round not only put the Spiders in first place, it put them ahead by eight shots. 

Once again leading the team, Lydic tallied an even-par round followed by first-year Caroline Thompson and Beasley who both carded 3-over-par rounds. 

Lydic has now won three tournament titles during her time at Richmond, the most in program history. Her strong performance put her in first place individually, making her the third Spider to do so at a conference match. 

"I didn't know exactly where I was. I didn't know if I was in contention or not," Lydic said. "I knew I played really well today and was super proud of what I did on the golf course."

Beasley had another top-five finish, placing fourth. Wilkie deeply struggled in the final round, picking up four double bogeys and placing her in 11th place. First-year Katie Magner’s 6-over-par on the last day pushed her up to 12th place right behind Wilkie. 

"My freshmen really stepped up. I believed in them and their teammates believed that they could pull through and they did. I am so proud of them," Barlow said. 

With the A-10 Championship behind them, the Spiders turn to find out which NCAA Regional site they will compete. Their eyes will be glued to the Golf Channel at 1:00 p.m. on April 23rd as the NCAA Women's Golf Selection Show plays on the screen.

Contact sports editor Abigail Finney at abigail.finney@richmond.edu