Day Five in Denver Saint Leo athletics saw Men's golf win the school's first National Championship, men's tennis finish a program-best National runners-up, and women's golf finish tied for fourth for a program-high finish.
The trip to Denver for the NCAA DII Festival wrapped up on Saturday as both Men's Tennis and Men's Golf were slated to compete in their respective title matches, while women's golf hit the course for their final day of action, looking to move among the leaders.
The Saint Leo women's golf team opened the day in 7th, but refused settle!
Sophomore Vilde Eriksen was the top Lion finisher in the championship, tying for ninth overall with a four-day score of 295 (+7). Eriksen shot a four-over 76 on Saturday, with birdies on the par-5 nos. 3 and 18, and the par-4 no. 10.
Sabrina Rumbaugh looks at her grip before teeing off in Saturday’s final round of the NCAA Championships; Rumbaugh makes par on the first hole of the day.
"Today was a great day. The ladies came out today focused ready to shoot a low round. We knew that the conditions were in our favor early and we took full advantage shooting under par on the first nine holes." -- Head Coach Tommy Baker
Saint Leo women's golf climbed three spots in Saturday's final round at CommonGround Golf Course to finish tied for fourth at the 2016 NCAA Division II Women's Golf National Championship.
Here are the match-ups prior to the NCAA DII Men's Golf Match Play Finals as Saint Leo took on Chico State. Below is what was at stake.
"I didn't have to say anything special today, I just told them to keep doing what they were doing. We didn't make any changes, just go out and play as aggressive as you can." -- Head Coach Chris Greenwood
Ryan Gendron won his match-up by shooting seven-under through his 18 holes.
Hugo Bernard, the individual national champion, also shot a seven-under and won his paring, tying the match at 2-2, setting up teammate Griffin Clark to come through in the end.
Clark held the two-under lead he had at the turn, and increased it to three-under over the final eight holes to help the Lions win the National Title.
The Lions used a 3-2 score in match play to take down Chico State and claim Saint Leo University's first-ever team National Championship.
Following the men's golf match, everyone headed over to Regency Athletic Complex to watch men's tennis take on Hawaii Pacific in the title match.
Senior Fons Verberne looks on from an empty officials chair as the Lions compete in doubles play.
Saint Leo runners Niclas Bez and Valentin Lenz made the trip to Denver and were active supporters all week
Following their final round, Saint Leo women's golf found their way to the courts.
Men's golf, along with Coach Greenwood, and women's lax coach Lesley Graham, cheer on their fellow Lions.
Following a total of 108 hole, six rounds, of golf, Joey Savoie made the smart decision and found a chair.
Then it was time to play.
Senior Egor Panyushkin claimed the Lions lone singles point, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, in a flat out battle with Hawaii Pacific.
While the Saint Leo men's tennis team had their eyes on the title, a runners-up finish is nothing to down play as this was the team's first-ever trip our of regional play, and the program's highest finish ever.
Over the week, Saint Leo Athletics saw their first-ever national champion as men's golfer Hugo Bernard took home the individual title on Thursday following match play. They also saw the Men's Golf team finish with the first-ever national title in school history, the men's tennis team claim second place, the women's tennis team tie their highest finish ever with a third place - semifinalist finish, and women's golf took home a program-high finish of fourth place, and finish their first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships with the day's best round.