The Middlebury women's golf team surged up the leaderboard in Sunday's final round of the NESCAC Championship, carding a field-best 311 to take home its first conference crown in program history. The Panthers, who sat two strokes behind the lead coming into the day, finished the 54-hole event with a 936, five shots ahead of runner-up Bowdoin (941).

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

• Location: Yahnundasis Golf Club (New Hartford, N.Y.)
• Host School: Hamilton
• Weather: Partly Cloudy, 59
• Par: 73
• Yards: 5,757
• Place: 1st
• Teams Competing: Eight

HIGHLIGHTS

• Just two strokes behind the medalist, Audrey Tir earned third. The Panther carded a 77 over the final 18 holes to finish with a 227 overall.
• Right behind her teammate was Ella Han. She shot a 79, finishing with a three-day total of 231 to earn sixth.
• Morgan Lee closed out the Panther golfers inside the top 10, saving her best round of the weekend for Sunday. The Panther carded a 77 to move up one spot from Saturday to secure 10th place.
• Middlebury's final scorer was Mia Politano, who shaved seven strokes off her Saturday score with a 78 to climb seven spots and earn a share of 21st.
• Elizabeth Whalen also had a strong day for the Panthers. The rookie rose three spots after carding an 80 to sit alongside Politano.

NOTES

• Middlebury becomes the third NESCAC program to hoist the trophy. Amherst and Williams had combined for the previous eight conference crowns.
• The five-stroke difference is the third-closest margin of victory in tournament history.
• The Panthers tallied the second-most birdies (26) and pars (144) over the 54-hole event.
• From 2008-16, the conference held the NESCAC Tournament in conjunction with the Panthers' and Ephs' Fall Invitationals. Middlebury won the initial competition in 2008.

Middlebury earns the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, with the full field scheduled to be released on Monday, May 5. The four-day event kicks off on Tuesday, May 13, at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va.