MADISON, Wisc. – The Old Dominion women's golf duo of Federica Torre and Leah Onosato finished first and second, respectively, at the Badger Invitational, hosted by Wisconsin. Torre won her first collegiate event with a three-round total of 213 (-3). Onosato ended one stroke behind for the second runner-up finish of her Old Dominion career.
"We were again really close to being on top of the leaderboard," head coach Mallory Hetzel said. "University Ridge is a tough track, and the conditions made scoring very difficult. Federica and Leah played incredibly. We are excited for them both. We will work to improve our fourth score and put it all together next week. This is a good team, and our best golf is ahead of us."
A 36-hole co-leader, Torre carded an even-par 72 on Tuesday to remain atop the leaderboard. The senior started off with two birdies in her first three holes but was soon 3-over with 10 holes to play. Coming off a string of three-consecutive bogies, Torre stopped the bleeding with a birdie on the par-5 ninth then added birdies on the 11th and 13th holes to get back to even par for the day. From there, she carded five-straight pars to finish her round.
Torre was tied for first in par-5 scoring at 5-under and led the field with 15 total birdies. She opened the tournament with a 72 on Sunday before shooting 3-under 69 on Monday.
Congratulazioni, Federica!#ODUSports | #ReignOn | #Monarchs pic.twitter.com/YqV9nMtkjm
— ODU Women's Golf (@ODUWGolf) September 21, 2021
The 36-hole co-leader alongside Torre, Onosato shot 1-over 73 on Tuesday. She started the day on the second hole and was 2-over with two to play. Onosato birdied the par-4 18th hole to give herself the opportunity to tie Torre with a birdie on the first. However, she settled for par on the final hole for her second runner-up finish as a Monarch. The native of Kumamoto, Japan opened the tournament with a 73 before carding a personal-best 68 with five birdies on Monday.
Leah Onosato adds a second runner-up trophy to her collection#ODUSports | #ReignOn | #Monarchs pic.twitter.com/7WCGh7WxAD
— ODU Women's Golf (@ODUWGolf) September 21, 2021
One of three Monarchs with a share of the lead entering Tuesday morning, Jana Melichova carded a 4-over 76 to finish tied for sixth at 217 (+1). Melichova fired an even-par on Sunday and followed up with a 69 in the second round, her third round under par this season.
As a team, ODU finished third with a 17-over-par score of 881. The Monarchs opened with a 296 on Sunday before surging on Monday. In the second round, Old Dominion shot 3-under 285 and was the lone team under par for the day. The Monarchs notched 41 total birdies as a team, the second-most at the event.
Competing as an individual, Pilar Muguruza tied for 48th with 234. Sarah Busey (T59th) and Elsie Verhoeven (T66th) rounded out the scoring five for the Monarchs.
SMU won the team title at 11-over 875. The Mustangs rose four spots on Tuesday behind a final-round 284 (-4).
ODU is back in action this Sunday through Tuesday with the Bryan National Collegiate at Bryan Park Golf Course in Greensboro, North Carolina.
ODU Lineup
1. Federica Torre – 72-69-72 – 213
2. Leah Onosato – 73-68-73 – 214
T6. Jana Melichova – 72-69-76 – 217
T48. Pilar Muguruza* – 76-77-81 – 234
T59. Sarah Busey – 79-79-79 – 237
T66. Elsie Verhoeven – 80-80-84 – 244
*competing as an individual
Team Leaderboard
1. SMU – 291-300-284 – 875
2. Notre Dame – 299-289-289 – 877
3. Old Dominion – 296-285-300 – 881
4. Wisconsin – 283-296-303 – 882
5. Washington State – 294-291-298 – 883
6. Colorado State – 302-296-291 – 889
7. Pepperdine – 298-300-294 – 892
8. Grand Canyon – 291-305-299 – 895
9. Iowa – 297-310-307 – 914
10. Indiana – 308-304-309 – 921
11. Rutgers – 317-304-301 – 922
12. UC Davis – 308-315-310 – 933