Pineda Paces Lehigh at PL Championship With First Team, Rookie of the Year Honors

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Madison Pineda capped a stellar first-year in the Brown and White by tying for third place to lead the Lehigh women’s golf team at the Patriot League Championship, which wrapped up Sunday at the Naval Academy Golf Club. Pineda earned first team All-Patriot League honors with her finish and was also voted the league’s Rookie of the Year by the league’s head coaches.

The Mountain Hawks shot 339 in cold, windy conditions Sunday to finish in fourth place with a final total of 956 (304-313-339).

Pineda shot a final round 78 on Sunday to finish the three-day event at 229 (73-78-78). She finished the tournament strong with a birdie and four pars over her last five holes. Pineda finished five strokes behind medalist Flair Kuan of Boston University, who was also named Player of the Year. Kuan finished at 224 (76-74-74). Pineda’s opening round 73 was the lowest round for any player on the weekend.

For the season, Pineda averaged 76.64 strokes over 22 competitive rounds. She finished in the top 10 individually in seven of Lehigh’s nine tournaments, including all five in the spring season. Her scoring average is the second lowest for a single season in program history. Pineda is the fourth Lehigh player to win the league’s Rookie of the Year award in nine tournaments, and is the first since Minuette Laessig shared the honor in 2017.

Lehigh’s next three finishers at the Patriot League Championship were all from the sophomore class. Sophie Holland just missed an all-league honor after tying for 11th place at 240 (76-75-89). Meghna Grover had the second lowest score on the day for Lehigh with an 85 to move into a tie for 20th place at 244 (78-81-85). Sophia Taverna tied for 22nd place at 245 (77-79-89).

Junior Hannah Foster finished in 31st place with a final score of 260 (82-86-92), while classmate Iris Shin finished in 35th at 267 (95-85-87).

Pineda, Taverna and Shin carded Lehigh’s three birdies in Sunday’s final round.

Boston University won the team championship with a final total of 928 (313-301-314). The Terriers edged Richmond by one stroke, while Navy finished in third place.

With no seniors on its roster, Lehigh returns all six of its Patriot League Championship competitors and nine players overall in 2022-23.

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