Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac reach NCAAs

The state will be wellrepresented when the NCAA Division I women's golf championship begins on May 9.

Sacred Heart won the Northeast Conference on Friday while Quinnipiac repeated in the MAAC on Sunday. Sacred Heart was able to unseat three-time champion Fairleigh Dickinson in the NEC.

“I thought we had a really good chance to play well all year,” Sacred Heart coach Matt McGreevy said. “We are young, but very talented. We were able to put it all together.”

As for Quinnipiac, this is the second time the Bobcats have repeated as MAAC champions, also accomplishing the feat in 2016 and 2017.

“This was very, very special. To be down after round 1 and down four after round 2, it was exhilarating,” Quinnipiac coach John O'Connor said.

Quinnipiac will play in the Tallahassee, Fla., Regional at Seminole Legacy GC from May 9-11. Sacred Heart will fly out West, playing in the Stanford (Calif.) Regional site at Stanford GC. Both programs are the No. 12 seed out of 12 teams in its respective NCAA regions.

Not only did the Bobcats come from behind to beat Albany in the final round at Walt Disney World's Magnolia Golf Course in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., their 37-over par cumulative total set a league tournament record.

Leeven Peralta posted a 2-over-par total of 218 for the 54-hole event, earning medalist laurels and MAAC Golfer of the Year honors. Teammate Kaylee Sakoda placed second, one stroke behind Peralta, thanks to a final round of 1-under-par 71.

O'Connor said both Peralta and Sakoda bested the previous individual

Sacred Heart athletics / Contributed photo The Sacred Heart University women’s golf team won the Northeast Conference championship in Daytona Beach, Fla., on April 22.