Owls Pull off Team Comeback at JWI; Bagnoli Earns Third Straight Win

Monday, October 4

Port St. Lucie, Fla.

All Day

Florida Atlantic

Jupiter Women's Invitational

Owls Pull off Team Comeback at JWI; Bagnoli Earns Third Straight Win

10/5/2021 4:34:00 PM | Women's Golf

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University women's golf overcame an 11-stroke first round deficit by shooting 1-over as a team the rest of the way, and Letizia Bagnoli made it three medalist honors in a row at the conclusion of the 2021 Jupiter Women's Invitational on Tuesday.

Despite trailing after the first 18 holes, the Owls were still in second place. An even-par team score to finish out Monday cut the deficit to six strokes, and Tuesday's 285 made for an 858 total, four strokes better than Kennesaw State and five lower than Nova Southeastern.

Bagnoli was the only golfer in the 55-player field to shoot under-par in every round, and is now three-for-three in individual tournament wins as an Owl. Her 8-under 205 (67-68-70) gave her a one-shot victory over Laura Edmonds of FGCU, despite Edmonds' tournament-record final round 65, which included the first ever hole-in-one at a JWI event.

Blanka Decker fired a 68 on Tuesday to climb four spots on the leaderboard, finishing fourth overall with a 1-under 212 (72-72-68), her second straight top-10 finish. Rosa Barnak was also near the top, in 10th alone at 216, shaving a stroke off each round (73-72-71).

The team victory may have most been in part due to the Owls' collective success on par-5 holes. The squad was 13-under, while the next best, UAB, totaled a 1-over-par. On those long-distance holes, Bagnoli and Decker were each 7-under, while Barnak and Olivia Bergner were each 1-under. The Owls also led all teams with 43 birdies and two eagles (both on No. 4 – Barnak during Monday's second round, and Decker on Tuesday).

Also individually, Decker led the field with 15 birdies, with Bagnoli's 12 good enough for third, and Bagnoli finished just one off the most pars recorded with 38.

Player	Finish	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Letizia Bagnoli	1	67	68	70	205 (-8)
Blanka Decker	4	72	72	68	212 (-1)
Rosa Barnak	10	73	72	71	216 (+3)
Olivia Bergner	T27	77	72	77	226 (+13)
Kim Egozi (Indiv.)	T30	73	77	77	227 (+14)
Anna Claire Bridge	T33	77	75	76	228 (+15)

Quotable:
"We won today because of the way we finished," said head coach Heather Bowie Young. "The team 'ran' through the finish line, not just to it. We experienced some adversity on the back nine but kept going forward."

What's Next:
The Owls finish out the fall two weekends from now, beginning Saturday, Oct. 16, at FIU's Pat Bradley Invitational. The event will take place over three days at the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club.