ORLANDO, Fla. – Jana Melichova of the Old Dominion women's golf team carded an even-par 72 on Wednesday to finish tied for ninth with a 7-under-par score of 209 at the UCF Challenge. The top-10 result is the sixth in a row for Melichova, dating back to last year's Conference USA Championship.
"The team responded so well this morning," head coach Mallory Kane said. "We really challenged them last night at our team meeting, and they answered the call. We were 3-under par this morning in our final 5 holes, which is great play. This finish gives us a lot of momentum and confidence as we head to Las Vegas."
Melichova was 1-over through 10 holes of the third round when play was suspended due to darkness on Tuesday. She wasted little time getting back to even with a birdie on the par-5 13th, her 13th birdie of the tournament. The senior from Pikovice, Czech Republic finished the event tied for the fifth-most birdies. The third-round 72 gave Melichova a fifth straight round with a score at or under par. Eleven of Melichova's 15 rounds this season have been even par or better.
Federica Torre finished off a 2-over 73 in the third round and tied for 51st at 218 (+2).
Leah Onosato had the best round for ODU in the third, shooting a 1-under 71. Onosato was solid throughout the third with 15 pars, two birdies and just one bogey. The native of Kumamoto, Japan went under par for the fourth time this season.
Pilar Muguruza and Sarah Busey rounded out the Monarchs' lineup with a 74 and 75, respectively. Muguruza finished the three-day event at 221, and Busey posted a score of 233.
Competing as an individual, Elsie Verhoeven had her best score of the tournament with a 75 in the final round and ended up with a 54-hole total of 231.
As a team, the Monarchs rebounded with a 290 in the final round to finish 14th at 4-over 868. ODU compiled 41 total birdies and 171 pars across three days at the par-72, 6,394-yard track.
Sixth-ranked Wake Forest ran away with the team competition, winning by 14 strokes at 45-under 819 – a program scoring record. No. 24 Kentucky finished as runner-up at 833, and No. 7 Virginia placed third at 27-under 837.
The Demon Deacons' Carolina Lopez-Chacarra won the individual competition at 19-under 197 behind a final-round 62, which matches the lowest 54-hole score by an individual in NCAA history. Jensen Castle of Kentucky was second at 201, and Wake Forest's Rachel Kuehn rounded out the top-three at 204.
Old Dominion heads to Las Vegas for The Show at Spanish Trail, which runs Monday through Tuesday at Spanish Trail Country Club.
ODU Lineup
T9. Jana Melichova – 68-69-72—209
T51. Federica Torre – 71-74-73—218
T61. Leah Onosato – 73-76-71—220
T69. Pilar Muguruza – 70-77-74—221
T93. Elsie Verhoeven* – 80-76-75—231
T96. Sarah Busey – 73-85-75—233
*Competing as an individual
Team Leaderboard
1. No. 6 Wake Forest – 277-269-273—819
2. No. 24 Kentucky – 276-279-278—833
3. No. 7 Virginia – 286-277-274—837
4. College of Charleston – 288-276-281—845
5. No. 12 Auburn – 279-278-291—848
6. No. 40 Michigan State – 284-283-284—851
7. Kent State – 292-278-282—852
8. No. 31 Miami – 279-290-284—854
9. No. 33 Iowa State – 286-289-282—857
10. NC State – 282-283-294—859
11. No. 22 UCF – 287-287-288—862
12. Minnesota – 291-287-288—866
13. No. 46 Ohio State – 291-287-289—867
14. Old Dominion – 282-296-290—868
15. Houston – 285-287-297—869
T16. Maryland – 291-294-287—872
T16. UNCW – 296-283-293—872
18. Penn State – 296-287-297—880
Melichova Gets Sixth Straight Top-10 Finish at UCF Challenge
