JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (October 8, 2024) – The Stonehill College women's golf team notched its highest team finish at a multi-round tournament at the NCAA Division I level by taking second place at the 2024 Red Flash Invitational, hosted by Saint Francis University, on the 5,972-yard, par-72 layout at historic Sunnehanna Country Club as play concluded with today's second round.
 

Brodahl finished second overall for the Skyhawks to lead the Skyhawks.

Stonehill, which held the first round lead for the first time in program history with a 315 team score on Monday, improved by three strokes today with a season-low matching 312 score to finish tied with Bucknell University (317-310) with their 627 team scores. The Skyhawks were awarded the second place trophy in a tiebreaker, but Purdue University-Fort Wayne charged to the team title by four strokes after a second round 306 for a two-day score of 623 (317-306). The Mastadons surged to the title with an incredible 13 birdies on their second nine, with all four of its scorers birdieing the par-5 sixth hole and playing the final nine at a collective one-under-par. Hunar Mittal shot four-under (33) on PFWs final nine (the course's front nine) to finish two-over-par 74 for the round to finish fifth overall.

Duquesne University, paced by individual medalist Sasha Petrochko, moved up three spots for a fourth place team finish (329-312=641), while host Saint Francis completed the top five (328-316=644). Petrochko carded the lone sub-par round of the tournament today with a two-under-par 70 to slip past Stonehill sophomore Helen Brodahl, the first-round leader, with a two-day score of four-over-par 148 (78-70).

Brodahl and fellow sophomore Carol Pignato paced Stonehill to its second-place finish with top three finishes. Brodahl followed her first round 73 with a 76 today and a two-day total of 149 (+5), while Pignato carded the Skyhawks lowest round of the day with a career-low 75 (+3) to move five spots up the leaderboard into a tie for third in the field of 56 golfers with a nine-over-par score of 153 (78-75). Brodahl recorded two birdies on the par-5 15^th hole and par-4 third to go with ten pars, while Pignato carded two birdies as well on the par-3 14^th hole and par-4 fourth, while adding 11 pars.

Stonehill led the tournament in par-4 scoring at the tournament with a 4.43 stroke average, finishing ten shots better than the field on those holes, led by Pignato with an even par scoring average on the holes of 4.00, with Brodahl close behind at 4.25 (+4). The Skyhawks were second to Bucknell (3.34) in par-3 scoring with a 3.34 average. Stonehill finished second to Purdue-Fort Wayne (18) in birdies with 15 as a team, while their 48 bogeys and 14 holes of double-bogey or worse were lowest in the field. Brodahl was also tied for third in par-5 scoring at 4.90 (-1), while ranking fifth with her four birdies over two days. The duo finished first and second for pars at the event with Brodahl posting a tournament-high 24 over two days and Pignato adding 23.
 

Pignato posted the lowest score of the day for the Skyhawks with a career-best 75 to finish third overall (PHOTO BY Brian Foley)

Coach's Quote
"The team's transformation started in the spring and has only improved since. I am extremely proud of their performance, and this was another 'mini victory' and a gritty effort for the team, with still more to come as they add to their story of Stonehill golf. The 1-2 duo of Helen and Carol are formidable right now and our depth in the lineup is evident. Helen's runner-up finish was outstanding golf over two days." – Nick Crovetti.
 
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Up Next
Stonehill returns to action next week when it competes at the Quinnipiac Classic, hosted by Quinnipiac University, on Monday and Tuesday, October 14-15, at The Farms Country Club in Wallingford, Connecticut.
 
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