CROZET, Va. -- On Sunday the Bridgewater College women's golf team played their final and best round of the ODAC Championship at Old Trail Golf Club, and they sent a couple of seniors out in style.
 
The team score of 313 was the second-lowest of the 2022-2023 season, and top-15 in program history. The Eagles came into the postseason scoring 330 per round, but turned in rounds of 325-317-313 to close the season with the second-lowest 54-hole ODAC Championship total since the program started.
 
The Eagles were led this week by Savannah Scott who put an exclamation point on an impressive career. She went 75-77-76 to finish 5th in the conference, ahead of three players ranked inside the top-55 nationally, and just one shot behind another. In her final round she played very steadily, despite not feeling well, and she produced 11 pars.
 
"Savannah leaves Bridgewater with the second best career scoring average combined with the best GPA," said head coach John Rogers. "I can't convey appropriately how fortunate we have been to have her with us at Bridgewater. She was twice an All-ODAC selection, won a couple tournaments, was the ODAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year once, and to top it all off, she was named the Geisert Scholar Athlete of the year for the senior class. She has done us all proud!"
 
By finishing top-5, Scott was named to the All-Tournament team. Her career average of 81.59 trails only the 2017 national champion, Christina Herbert. And the low scores this week ensured that her senior year was her best scoring season (80.25). She also improved in all three ODAC appearances (12th, 8th, and 5th), missing a championship due to the pandemic her freshman year.
 
Like the team, sophomore Sophia Martone got better every day of the championship. She went 84-76-75 to finish tied for eleventh. She dropped a downhill 20-footer on #9 for birdie that gave her a front-nine total of 36 (+1), and she added a birdie on #12 as well. Martone is on track to eventually unseat Scott on the scoring list with a two-season average of 78.6.
 
Shaina Beach also improved every day, managing a big week that included commencement yesterday before the second round. She came in with an 81 that, similar to Scott, established her final season as her best in terms of scoring. Even better than that, on Sunday Beach, a former Broadway High School standout, was named the ODAC Sportswoman of the Year for the second straight time. 
 
"That's quite a statement from the ODAC," said Rogers "but I'm afraid it's a huge understatement. Shaina is one of the most thoughtful people I've ever met. The last thing she did at this tournament was to carry a bunch of flag poles to the car of our associate commissioner without him knowing she was even doing it. That's how it was for four years -- she rode shotgun in the team van, helping me navigate, handling messages while I drove, taking team food orders, and doing a million little things that made life better for everyone around her. The best way to say it is that Shaina has been a blessing to our team." Rogers added that it was bittersweet to see Beach finish her career because he has known her since she was eight years old when she started taking golf lessons from him at Lakeview Golf Club.
 
Rounding out the team score for Bridgewater on Sunday was Madolin Neff, another senior, but a senior who Rogers was thrilled to expect back for a fifth year. Neff went 79-82-81 to finish 16th for the second straight year in the championship. She has "flagged" (top-18) in all three of her ODAC appearances, and like her fellow-seniors, her fourth season provided the best scoring average of her career.
 
Following the team trend, junior Kaitlyn Gaeth, improved through all three rounds of the championship. Capping an impressive season during which she cracked into the starting lineup, Gaeth shot the third-lowest round of her career (84). In her three seasons, two of which were split-time with basketball, she has cut an almost unbelievable 25 strokes from her scoring average. Rogers said the team will be relying on her in the fall to assume a leadership role and help replace the current seniors.
 
The Eagles ended up going "coast to coast" in third place since they were never quite able to threaten the two teams in front of them, both of whom are ranked top-35 in the nation. W&L won the championship by 21 strokes over Lynchburg, and General, Julia Haetzel, shot 69 to come from behind and win the individual title. Bridgewater continued a nine-season streak during which they have never finished lower than third in the conference. They were 67 shots clear of 4th-place Randolph Macon. Scott, Martone, Neff, and Beach all earned flags for top-18 finishes.
 
Looking ahead to the new season in September Rogers said it will be a challenge to replace Scott and Beach at a time when the conference is getting deeper and stronger, but that they have a tradition of players stepping up when needed. The 2022-2023 season ended up being the fourth best season in program history based on team scoring.