The Statesmen women’s golf team entered the final day out of contention for the title, but motivation was not a problem as the program propelled up the ladder at the NAIA National Championships Friday.

#20 WPU jumped three positions to finish 12th with a final-round score of 320 (total score at 1,276–322-322-312-320) at the par-72 Savannah Quarters Country Club. The navy and gold, who tied for the eighth-best round on Friday, matched Cal State-San Marcos at 1,276.

In what could have been a great battle for the national crown, top-ranked Northwood (Fla.) made it a laugher. The Seahawks shot a tournament-low 296 to win the event by 22 strokes at 1,211 (308-301-306-296). A trio of programs–William Woods (Mo.), SCAD-Savannah (Ga.), and Dalton State (Ga.)–were distant runners-up, tying at 1,233.

Julia McQuilken of Dalton State entered the final round with a sizeable lead and did not relinquish it, taking the individual crown at 292 (74-70-71-77).

Scoring was tough for most of the field, but three Statesmen still managed to shoot 78 or lower.

Maggie Yang posted a 78 in her final collegiate round to finish in a tie for 33rd at 313 (82-77-76-78).

Natalie Booton also carded a 78 to finish in a tie for 40th at 315 (78-83-76-78).

Demi Coertze shot the lowest round of the day at 76 to finish in a tie for 58th at 321 (78-82-85-76).

Jing Yang unfortunately struggled on Friday with a 90 and tied for 78th overall at 335 (84-80-81-90). Alexandria Eckenrod had issues as well in her last collegiate round, tallying an 88. She wraps up her career in 81st place at 338 (88-83-79-88).

Birdies were fairly elusive Friday as Yang, Booton, Coertze, and Eckenrod each had just one apiece.

“This was a total team effort this week,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “We had a rough start, but never gave up and every day we climbed higher and higher in the standings. This team has worked so hard this year, not only all the players who were here this weekend but all those who are in the program. They have pushed one another all year and that competitiveness helped us excel when we found ourselves experiencing a little bit of adversity.”

“Each year we have improved significantly,” Rule added. “We have won two straight conference tournaments and improved from our 15th place finish last year at nationals to 12th this year. The sacrifice and dedication from the members of this team has helped build prestige in our program that will continue to grow for years to come. This is the most successful year in William Penn Women’s Golf history, and we will build off this success and continue to get better and better.”