REXFORD, N.Y. – Sitting in the driver's seat after the first round of competition, the Suffolk women's golf team used a resilient effort to hold off its competition and capture the 2024 Northeast Women's Golf Conference (NWGC) championship.
All 36 holes of the 2024 NWGC Championship were played over the weekend at The Edison Club, a par-72 course.
Along with winning the NWGC title, Suffolk has earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship, which will take place May 21-24 in at Keene Trace in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
The Rams will represent the University and the NWGC for the first time in program history. This is the second NWGC title in program history for Suffolk, first since grabbing the inaugural crown in 2019.
Suffolk's trophy came behind a two-day card of 648. The Rams held a four stroke lead going into day two and put together a program-best 18-hole team score of 315 on Sunday to claim the league title and top the nine-team field. The blue-and-gold finished 10 strokes ahead of runner-up SUNY Cortland (658) and St. John Fisher (756) rounded out the top three teams.
Ellie Yarbrough anchored Suffolk to victory. The senior garnered individual medalist honors with a two-round score of 152. After day one, she shared the top spot with St. John Fisher's Alex Tomasso with a 78. On Sunday, the Rams' captain compiled a 74, three strokes ahead of Tomasso, for sole possession of the individual crown.
The Lake Oswego, Oregon, product set records on the course in Upstate New York. The 74 is an 18-hole, program-record at The Edison Club by a Ram, upstaging the previous mark of 82 held by Isabel Smith since the dual match against SUNY Cortland May 1, 2021. Yarbrough's two-day score is also a best for a blue-and-gold golfer at The Edison Club as she rewrote her own record by 14 strokes. NWGC Championship wise, Yarbourgh set Rams records for both an 18-hole score (74) and two-day score (152).
Yarbrough is the second Ram in program history to take home NWGC Individual Medalist, first since Nicole Antonucci did so in the first-ever NWGC Championship in 2019.
Ella Torsleff made the most of her NWGC debut as the sophomore secured fourth in the 54-golfer field. The Bozeman, Montana native shaved one stroke off her 82 day one score to finish with a 163 (+19).
Smith was one spot behind Torsleff. After shooting 86 on Saturday, the senior that calls Westford, Massachusetts home put together a 78 on Sunday for a combined 164, good for fifth.
Brooke Bugajewski secured eighth behind a 169. The Rams rookie was the best freshman on the course en route to NWGC Rookie of the Year honors. She edged SUNY Cortland's Mimi Rienzo by one dstroke for the distinction. The Bloomfield Hill, Michigan native is the first Suffolk student-athlete to collect the accolade as the best first-year golfer on the conference championship course.
For their efforts on the greens, Yarbrough, Torsleff, Smith and Bugajewski all locked up All-NWGC honors. With finishes in the top five, Yarbrough, Torsleff and Smith were named to the All-NWGC First-Team, while Bugajewski secured a second-team nod. The four All-NWGC in one season is a program-record for the Rams, upstaging the previous mark of three honorees in 2021. The three first-team accolades are also a program-best for the blue-and-gold. Individually, Yarbrough collected her fourth All-NWGC award. She is the first Suffolk player to earn an all-league honor in each of her collegiate seasons in program history. Smith, meanwhile, picked up her third all-conference distinction. Torselff and Bugajewski were first-time recipients.
Sophie Kiley rounded out the Rams on the NWGC Champion in a share of 23rd with a 197.
Suffolk will now prep for its NCAA Championship debut, that is just under a month away.
