Pirates Finish Second At River Landing | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU Sports.



    WALLACE, N.C.     Despite turning in the program's top single round in over three years, East Carolina's comeback efforts to claim its second-straight River Landing Classic title fell just short as the Pirates earned a second-place finish Tuesday.

    The two-day, 54-hole event was held at the par 72, 6,026-yard River Landing River Course.

    ECU carded a three-over 867 (293-293-281), trailing only tournament champion James Madison (866) by a single stroke. The Dukes and Pirates easily out-distanced the rest of the field, including the next three finishers in Boston College (879/+15), Elon (881/+17) and Charlotte (883/+19).

    East Carolina's third-round score, a seven-under 281, served as a tournament best and was the program's top mark since firing a 279 during second-round action at the UCF Challenge in Orlando on Feb. 4, 2019.

    "We came up one shot short, but I could not be more proud of these girls and this team," ECU Head Women's Golf Coach CC Buford said. "This whole year, specifically after the last two events, we challenged and pushed this team very hard because I knew we were better than what we had been showing this season. Everyone in that room responded to that challenge.

    "I'm so proud of Coach Robbie (Fields). He works incredibly hard each day to put these girls in the best position to succeed, prepare the game plan and I thought he was brilliant this week."

    Individually, Oda Sofie Kilsti earned medalist runner-up status with a three-under 72-73-68-213, just two shots off the pace set by JMU's Amelia Williams (211). Two other Pirates stood among the Top 10 as Andrea Miralles Llopis recorded a 72-73-71=216 (even) to stand tied for third and Kathryn Carson tied for eighth with a 73-73-71=217 (+1) total. Additionally, Julie Boysen Hillestad finished tied for 20th after shooting a 76-74-71=221 (+5) and Riley Hamilton added a 76-76-74=226 (+10) for a share of 40th.

    "I am proud to be a part of this team and the fight everyone had on the last round," Miralles Llopis said. "I have a lot of confidence after my first T3 (Top 3 finish) as a Pirate."

    The Pirates led the field in par-4 scoring (4.09) and birdies (47), while registering the second-best par-5 average at 4.87 and standing third with a 3.10 par-3 clip. Kilsti and Carson each captured individual statistical categories in birdies (14) and pars (47), respectively. Kilsti was also third in par-5 scoring with a 4.58 average and Boysen-Hillestad's 13 birdies were good enough for second, one shy of her teammate.

    "We have our season goals in front of us and this is the kind of performance we can build on as we come down the home stretch," Buford added. "These girls can now take a few days to enjoy Spring Break, but I am very pleased with their response and how they went out there and represented East Carolina Women's Golf this week."

    The Pirates will be back in action Monday, March 14 when they participate in the Briar's Creek Invitational at Johns Island, S.C.