OCEAN ISLE, N.C. - Bridgewater College women's golfer Hannah Rizzo came close to claiming her first collegiate medal in October before falling just short. But today at Lions Paw Golf Club she closed the deal to win the Pfeiffer Spring Invitational and help her team move up the leaderboard. 
 
At the Knights Invitational last fall Rizzo opened the tournament with a career round of 71 on a day where scoring was very tough she found herself with a large lead, and in a position she had never experienced before. After a rough start in the second round she ended up in a playoff which went three holes before she had to settle for second place. On Monday at Lions Paw, Rizzo opened the Spring season with another strong round of 74 that had her in the hunt once again. This time, with more experience behind her she took over the lead by the 6th hole and never looked back. Ultimately the sophomore finished two strokes clear of CNU player, Katie Watson.
 
"I was very nervous coming up to day two but being in that position before helped me get through the nerves," said Hannah Rizzo. "It's a great experience winning a tournament. Coach Rogers and I worked hard on my swing while stuck indoors for the preseason practices, and with additional help from Coach Clark and Coach Bartley (Volunteer Assistant Coach Jesse Bartley) throughout the rounds helped me play my best and win."
 
Rizzo ended up shooting 74-76 (150) for the win. Her victory made her the seventh Eagle to win a tournament over the past decade. Head Coach John Rogers said that he might've been as excited as Rizzo was when the final putt dropped. "I have been fortunate to experience quite a few college wins over the years, but this one is right up there given the size and strength of the field, and the near miss that Hannah experienced last fall," He said. "Im not sure that even Hannah fully realized how much talent she has and how capable she is of executing under pressure this was a sweet win, and well deserved." Rogers went on to say that Tuesday was even sweeter because the team jumped into second place, a very strong finish for a team that was a sixth seed. 
 
Also driving the strong team performance, senior Sophia Martone hit the ball well during both rounds and turned in scores of 80-81 (161) that gave her a ninth place finish among seventy-one competitors. For her part, Martone won the first two tournaments of the Eagles' Season, meaning a Bridgewater player has claimed medalist honors in three of their last five events. Martone ended the tournament second in Par-3 scoring at plus one, and today she birdied two of the shorter holes. Martone was pleased with her ball striking, especially for the first event of the spring season, but said she struggled on the greens.
 
Similarly, junior Emily Price hit a lot of good shots at Lions Paw but often found herself on the wrong side of the undulated greens. She followed her first round score of 88 with the same number on Tuesday. She finished 29th in the Pfeiffer Invitational. 
 
With five holes on the front nine that were higher than bogie, Freshman Brooke Tyler looked like she would surely be the drop score for Bridgewater in the second round, but she found some magic on the inward nine. An eagle on the par 5 thirteenth hole meant that she was even on the back through six holes, and even when she bogied the final three holes for 39 she had shaved eleven strokes from her front nine score. Her final tally of 91-89 (180) put her in 40th place. 
 
Senior Evelyn Hunter opened the tournament on a solid first nine of 42 strokes but said she felt the momentum slipping after that. During the final round her tee shots were under control but she struggled from there on in. She ended up carding a 96. 
 
In a competitive field, the Eagles were pleased to be in third place after the opening round, and most of the day it looked like that's where they would stay. They trailed Southern Virginia by as many as nine strokes a tall hill to climb over with limited holes to play. But on a blustery day when scoring was tough the Eagles finished strong and overtook the Knights on the 17th hole, clinching second place. CNU (No. 21 in the Nation) ran away for the victory, but the Eagles topped a strong list of remaining teams. So far in the 2024-2025 season the Eagles have five finishes of 3rd place or better.

Their next appearance will be the toughest of the season though when they head to the Jekyll Island Invitational to face 23 of the best teams in the nation. The Jekyll island event begins on March 21.