BOCA RATON, Fla. — Vanderbilt cruised to the finish line Tuesday during the final round of the FAU Paradise Invitational, winning by 25 strokes over Nebraska.
The victory was the second of the season for the Commodores and the team’s three-round total of 835 was the second-best mark in the history of the program. It was made more impressive given the windy conditions.
“What a day and what another impressive round of golf. I thought today’s round might have been as good as (Monday) only because of how tough the conditions were,” Vandy head coach Greg Allen said. “These young ladies came out hot and stepped on the gas early and never let up.”
Vandy led by 12 strokes going into Tuesday and didn’t take the foot off the accelerator as it pulled further away from the field. The Dores were one of three teams to finish under par in the third round of play.
Virginie Ding recorded the best finish of her career by coming in second overall. A junior who won the Orlando International Amateur earlier this year, Ding went 10-under-par for the tournament and finished one shot back of individual champion Letizia Bagnoli (-11) of Florida Atlantic.
Ding’s 54-hole total of 206 tied for the fifth-best mark in program history.
Teammates Tillie Claggett, Celina Sattelkau and Lynn Lim also finished inside the top 10 as well. Sattelkau and Claggett tied for third overall at 7-under-par while Lim tied for eighth at 4-under-par.
Tess Davenport (+3) tied for 28th and Natasha Kiel (+5), competing as an individual, tied for 37th.
“After winning the Orlando Am last month, Ginnie continues to play with a lot of confidence and at a very high level. She was so steady this week,” Allen said. “It was nice to see Celina and Tillie get a top-three finish and Lynn fought hard today to stay inside the top 10.”
Vandy, which won the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in October, will be back in action Feb. 19-21 at the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Florida.
“This feels really good and we will enjoy it because we know how hard it is to win,” Allen said. “But we know we need to continue getting better because the competition and golf courses only get tougher.”
