Bagnoli Claims C-USA Championship

Monday, April 18

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

All Day

Florida Atlantic

Conference USA Championship

4/20/2022 7:23:00 PM | Women's Golf

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University women's golf finished tied for third at the Conference USA Championship on Wednesday and senior Letizia Bagnoli won the individual title in runaway fashion. The team finish is the Owls' highest since joining C-USA in 2014. Bagnoli is the first C-USA individual champion in program history.

Quotable

First year Head Coach Heather Bowie Young on the play Letizia Bagnoli
"Anytime you can leave a conference championship with some hardware, that's a good thing. I'm very happy for her. She's had a great year. Hopefully this is just the start of a good run for her."

On the best team finish in C-USA championship history
"This is something to build on for next year. If you had told me at the beginning of the week that we would finish tied for third, I would've taken it. It's a sign of where we are and where we're going. I'm really excited because this whole group comes back. With another year under our belts, I think we can be in the mix again next year."

Bagnoli on what it means to be a conference champion
"I am so honored. I transferred to FAU not knowing what I was walking into. I am extremely proud of my teammates. I am happy to have Heather as our coach. I never expected to win three tournaments plus a conference championship. I'm excited to get to regionals and hopefully make nationals."

How It Happened

Bagnoli entered Wednesday's final round with a five-shot lead over UTSA's Ana Gonzalez
That lead was quickly trimmed to just one after Gonzalez birdied the first two holes and Bagnoli made a pair of bogeys
When Bagnoli made a five on the par-three seventh and Gonzalez got up and down for par, the Owls' No. 1 found herself in second place for the first time all week
The turning point of the round and the tournament came on the par-four ninth
Bagnoli drained an improbable 40-foot birdie putt while Gonzalez missed her short attempt for par
The momentum had shifted, and the native of Florence, Italy preceded to birdie the next two holes to stretch her lead back up to three
Wind gusts up to 25 mph made the final six holes a matter of survival for the whole field
Bagnoli's chasers dropped off one by one until the senior found herself with a seven-shot lead heading to the final hole
A par on the difficult 18th was more than enough to earn Bagnoli her fourth victory of the season

What It Means

The win earns Bagnoli an individual bid to the NCAA Regionals beginning May 9 at one of six host sites across the country
The 2022 NCAA DI Women's Golf Selection Show can be seen on GOLF Channel on April 27 at 5 pm
Bagnoli is the first conference champion for FAU women's golf in 20 years
Jessica Polus was the last Owl to do it as part of the ASUN conference in 2002
With her fourth win of 2021-22, Bagnoli has tied the single-season FAU record

Quick Hits

The Champion Course at PGA National played more than 11 shots over par (83.56) in Wednesday's final round
The field combined for 89 birdies in each of the first two rounds. On Wednesday, that number plummeted to just 54
With high winds wreaking havoc on the scoring, Rosa Barnak's 81 was the Owls' second-lowest score of the day (after Bagnoli's 79)
North Texas (935) won the team competition by one-shot over UTSA (936)
FAU (955) tied with Charlotte, FIU, and Old Dominion for third

FAU Scores

Place	Player	Round One	Round Two	Round Three
1	Letizia Bagnoli (1)	70	73	79
T12	Rosa Barnak (3)	81	74	81
T26	Olivia Bergner (4)	77	80	87
46	Blanka Decker (2)	75	86	92
54	Kacey Walker (5)	87	86	95