HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Vanderbilt junior Celina Sattelkau added another top-three finish to her resume as she and the Commodores completed play Wednesday in the 10th edition of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
“I’m so dang proud of Celina (Sattelkau) and how she carried herself this week after not playing a competitive round of golf since October,” said head coach Greg Allen.
In her first start of the 2022 spring season, Sattelkau was 2-under-par during her final round and 1-under-par for the tournament to match a career-best finish tied for third. Her third top-three finish marks the first for this season and first since stroke play at the 2021 SEC Championships.
The Neustadt, Germany native surged six spots after firing five birdies on the day, which tied for the second-highest birdie total (11).
As a team, Vandy was 9-over-par Wednesday to finish the 54-hole tournament with a score of 35-over-par 887 on the Pete Dye Course at Long Cove Club.
The par-71 course that is 6,290 yards in length was a challenge for the field of top golfers. No team had a 54-hole score that finished under par during the tournament. Out of 90 individuals, Sattelkau was one of four to finish the 54-holes under-par. The average round score for the tournament was 74.47.
Sophomore Virginie Ding tied for 50th while seniors Louise Yu and Auston Kim each tied for 59th. After struggles the first two days, Kim moved up 16 spots after a 1-over-par performance Wednesday.
“It was nice to see Auston (Kim) get things figured out today,” noted Allen.
Freshman Natasha Kiel rounds out the Vanderbilt contingent tied for 68th.
No. 5 Wake Forest won its second-straight Darius Rucker Intercollegiate title, finishing 9-over-par. Demon Deacon Carolina Lopez-Chacarra earned individual medalist honors with a 54-hole total of 4-under-par.
“We’re definitely disappointed in how we finished this week, but I’m not discouraged,” said Allen. “I really believe this team can be really good. We’ve got to continue to do the little things at a much higher level and we need to continue to become a more mentally tough team.”
The Commodores will head out west and return to the course March 13-15 for the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge at the challenging Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, California. Vanderbilt made its first appearance at the tournament in 2020, where the team finished tied for 15th.
Sattelkau Soars to Top-Three Finish by Vanderbilt Athletics on on Exposure
