WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Longwood women's golf led wire-to-wire to win its first tournament since 2012, and junior Madison Lehr claimed the individual title at the Tribe Invitational at the Kingsmill River Course.  

 

The Lancers started strong, firing the best scores in the first (5-over 293) and second (1-over 289) rounds to lead by 12 strokes after the opening day of competition. Longwood was forced to overcome some adversity, counting all four of its scores on Tuesday after junior Abigail Sheldon was forced to withdraw due to illness. The Lancers still posted the second-best round of the day at 303 (+15) and outdistanced host William & Mary, who finished at 893 (+29), by eight strokes.  

 

Tuesday's tournament win was the program's first in nearly 15 years. The last Longwood team victory came at the Kingsmill River Course as well during the 2012 C&F Bank Intercollegiate.  

 

Lehr turned in an impressive tournament, finishing as the only player among the 50 competitors under par. The Longwood junior recorded 1-under par 71s in each of the first two rounds, collecting three birdies compared to two bogeys in each round. She closed out the four-shot win with an even-par 72 on Tuesday. In total, only five rounds finished under par over the two days, and Lehr produced two. She is the first individual champion for the Lancers since Courtney Tolton won the Tignanelli Towson Invitational in 2016. Lehr led the tournament in par-5 scoring at 5-under par and with eight total birdies.  

 

Prior to withdrawing on Tuesday, Sheldon sat in second place behind Lehr after posting an even-par 144 through two rounds. She fired the best round of the tournament with a 3-under par 69 in the second round. More impressively, the junior was ill during the round, which forced her to miss the final round. She collected four birdies compared to one bogey on her second 18 holes.  

 

Junior Chiara Wippert and sophomore Avery Nordman both finished among the top 10 in a share of eighth at 10-over 226. Wippert fired her best round in the first 18 with an even par 72. Nordman posted a second-round 74 (+2) which featured 16 pars. She ranked third in the tournament with 40 total pars.  

 

Competing as an individual, freshman Romy Wagner turned in a strong performance in her first collegiate tournament. She shot a 7-over 223 (74-75-74) to finish in third place. Wagner highlighted her tournament with scores of 2-over par 74 in the first and third rounds. In total, she collected seven birdies across her three rounds.  

 

Freshman Abbie Moore rounded out the Longwood lineup, finishing in a share of 16th place at 231 (+15). Her best round came in round 1 at 75 (+3).  

 

Quotable  

"What a fantastic way to open the season! Madison put three great rounds together to earn her first collegiate tournament win, but it was truly a team effort out there. Abigail Sheldon fell ill in the middle of the second round and persevered to finish with an amazing 69. Unfortunately, she was unable to compete today. The other four knew all of their scores would count going into the final round, so it was a good test of feeling the pressure and playing well to maintain the lead." - head coach  Megan Weaver
 

The Lancers return to action next week at the Pirate Collegiate Classic, Sept. 14-15, in Greenville, N.C. 

Tribe Invitational
Kingsmill River Course • Williamsburg, Va. 
Par 72