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Ohio Northern University

Women's Golf wins OAC Championships title with record-breaking performance; Honigford claims share of third OAC individual crown as four Polar Bears earn All-OAC honors

Women's Golf wins OAC Championships title with record-breaking performance; Honigford claims share of third OAC individual crown as four Polar Bears earn All-OAC honors
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May 5, 2024

WEST LAFAYETTE — Ohio Northern held off a strong charge from Otterbein to grab the 2024 Ohio Athletic Conference Women's Golf Tournament title with a record-breaking performance Friday-Sunday.

The Polar Bears grabbed the OAC title for the third time in program history and the second time in the past four seasons, edging Otterbein 1269-1274 over the 72-hole tournament.

Senior Grace Honigford (West Chester/Lakota East) won Co-Medalist honors with a 14-over par 74-77-75-76—302, breaking her own 72-hole school record by nine shots.

With the victory, Ohio Northern receives the OAC's automatic bid to the NCAA III Championships May 21-24 at Keene Trace Golf Course in Nicholasville, Ky.

| OAC Championships Site |

The Basics

  • The Polar Bears carded a 311-320-325-313—1269 to break the school's 72-hole record of 1301 by 32 strokes and win the 9-team tournament.
  • Otterbein was second five shots back with a 313-321-323-317—1274, Mount Union was third with a 320-323-333-328—1304 and John Carroll was fourth with a 346-344-348-347—1385.
  • Northern entered the day with a 1-shot lead over the Cardinals and the lead was just one with 9 holes to play. But ONU played the final six holes as a team in just 8-over par to pull away and grab the title.
  • ONU Record: 72-35 Overall.
  • Venue: River Greens G.C. - West Lafayette, Ohio.

ONU Individuals

  • Honigford played the last 16 holes in 1-over par to share Medalist honors with Mount Union's Jecelyn Troyer, who shot an even-par 72 on the day.
  • Sophomore Marisa Alfes (Bellbrook) was fifth of 44 golfers with a personal-best 77-81-82-73—313, which tied the previous school record of 313.
  • Junior Amelia Burger (Centerville) was seventh with a 78-77-84-83—322, which was her best by four shots and the fifth-lowest total in school history.
  • Junior Rhianna Firmstone (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) was 12th with an 82-89-84-81—336 in her first collegiate 72-hole event. Her 336 ranks 10th all-time at ONU.
  • Fifth-year senior Torrie Smith (Kokomo, Ind./Western) tied for 17th with an 86-85-87-88—346, which was 17 shots better than her previous personal record and is the 11th-lowest round in school history
  • Honigford, Alfes, Burger and Firmstone all earned All-OAC honors.

Notables

  • Honigford has been Medalist 22 times in 46 career tournaments. This is her third OAC individual title, winning the crown outright as a freshman in 2021 and finishing Co-Medalist in 2022 and 2024.
  • The top 14 individuals and ties earn All-Conference honors.
  • The tournament consisted of 27 holes on Friday, 27 more on Saturday and 18 on Sunday.
  • Head coach Chad Bucci is 444-283-2 in his 11th season at the helm of the ONU women's golf team, a winning percentage of .610.

Up Next

  • The Polar Bears will return to action at the NCAA III Championships May 21-24 at Keene Trace Golf Course in Nicholasville, Ky.