ARDEN, N.C. – Longwood navigated a challenging final day at the French Broad Collegiate Invitational and settled into a tie for ninth place at the three-day, 54-hole tournament hosted by UNC Asheville at The Cliffs at Walnut Cover.
 
Senior Diana Domenech was Longwood's top performer in Wednesday's final round, shooting her best round of the tournament to finish 79-89-78—246 (+33). That performance saw Domenech bounced back from a four-bogey front nine to par nine of her final 11 holes, including seven on the back nine.
 
Domenech tied for 48th, matching teammate and fellow senior Grace Huffman, while perennial Longwood frontrunner Emma Landis once again put together the team's top overall score with a 76-75-83—234 (+21). Landis finished in a tie for a 29th, followed by freshman Ester Choi, whose steady 79-78-79—236 (+23) earned her a tie for 34th in the 70-player field.
 
"We didn't finish like we wanted to today, but our fall season overall went well," said Longwood head coach Brittany Dabule. "There were a lot of positives to take us into next spring. We had individual career bests, record-low single-round team scores and record-low tournament team scores. We have a lot of individual work that needs to be done over the winter break for us to be ready for the spring season."
 
The French Broad Collegiate Invitational marks the end of a grueling fall schedule for the Lancers, who have played in five tournaments since September, including each of the past three weeks. Those tournaments produced a number of highlights and building blocks for Longwood heading into the spring competition season, including a top-five team finish at the Grandover Fall Classic, a top-10 finish by Landis at that same tournament, three individual top-20 tournament finishes, and a Big South-era record three-round score of 890 at the Edisto Island Invitational.
 
From Longwood's youth-laden roster, the sophomore Landis was team's top finisher at every tournament and own the Lancers' top stroke average at 74.58. Meanwhile, the freshman Choi and senior Domenech are tied for second at 76.67.
 
The Lancers will now begin their preparation for the spring, which will begin in March and build up to the 2022 Big South Championship on April 13-16 at The Patriot Golf Club in Ninety Six, S.C.
 
French Broad Collegiate Invitational
November 9, 2021 (Day 3 of 3)
Arden, N.C. (The Cliffs at Walnut Cove)
Par 71, 5,937 Yards
 
Team Results
1. Wofford (301-296-299—896, +44)
2. Eastern Kentucky (306-304-288—898, +46)
T-3. High Point (301-301-308—901, +58)
T-3. Gardner-Webb (299-305-306—910, +58)
T-3. Western Carolina (299-299-312—910, +58)
6. USC Upstate (317-300-294—911, +59)
7. Lipscomb (310-303-304—917, +65)
8. UNC Asheville (303-321-300—924, +72)
T-9. Longwood (311-322-325—958, +106)
T-9. Belmont (320-330-308—958, +106)
11. Radford (340-337-315—992, +140)
12. Appalachian State (328-344-321—993, +141)
13. Northern Kentucky (331-336-329—996, +144)
 
Longwood Individual Results (70 participants)
T-29. Emma Landis (76-75-83—234, +21)
T-34. Ester Choi (79-78-79—236, +23)
T-48. Diana Domenech (79-89-78—246, +33)
T-48. Grace Huffman (81-80-85—246, +33)
67. Annabelle Jennings (77-WD-WD—DNF)
 
#HorsePower