The Vanderbilt women’s golf team followed up their second-place finish at the FAU Paradise Invitational with a 12th-place finish at the 10th edition of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The 17-team tournament was played at Long Cove Club.

As one of the top-ranked residential courses in the country according to Golfweek, the Pete Dye Course at Long Cove Club proved to be a challenge for much of the field. The par-71, measuring 6,290 yards in length, led no team to under-par finishes for the 54-hole, three-day round. Vanderbilt finished 12th with a final score of 887—35-over-par of 852— while the Wake Forest Demon Deacons were victorious with a final score of 861 (+9). 

Individually, the average round score was 74.47 and only four golfers finished the 54-hole round under par. The Commodores’ Celina Sattelkau was one of them, posting a 212 (-1) score, en route to a top-three finish.

“I’m so dang proud of Celina [Sattelkau] and how she carried herself this week after not playing a competitive round of golf since October,” head coach Greg Allen told VUCommodores.com.

The junior Sattelkau’s presence was deeply missed in the first tournament of the spring season, but her return was a welcome sight to an already rounded-out roster. In her first start of the 2022 spring season, the Neustadt, Germany native posted a 2 under par final round and 1 under par overall tournament score. 

Being in ninth place after Day 2, five birdies on Day 3 led to a six-spot jump in her position. Her third top-three finish of her career was her first since stroke play at the 2021 SEC Championships. 

As for the rest of the team, sophomore Virginie Ding tied for 50th at 12 over par. Seniors Louise Yu and Auston Kim tied for 59th at 14 over par, while freshman Natasha Kiel tied for 68th at 16 over par. 

Kim, like Sattelkau, had an impressive finish in the final round, jumping 16 spots in the standings with a 1 over par Day 3. This momentum is key for the team, as Kim hopes to build on her recent success, where she posted three top-five finishes out of her last four outings. 

“It was nice to see Auston [Kim] get things figured out today,” Allen said.

Despite the finish in the standings, the Commodores’ final day momentum and intangibles learned will prove valuable for upcoming tournaments. The Pete Dye Course was much more challenging than the Osprey Point Golf course from the previous FAU Paradise Invitational. This is a necessary experience for the team, as they will continue to play on difficult courses throughout the season, as soon as next week. 

“We’re definitely disappointed in how we finished this week, but I’m not discouraged,” Allen said. “I really believe this team can be really good. We’ve got to continue to do the little things at a much higher level and we need to continue to become a more mentally tough team.”

The Commodores will hope their Day 3 success and difficult course experience translates to the standings, as they head out west to the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge from March 13-15. The challenging Palos Verdes Golf Club awaits them, where Vanderbilt posted a 15 over par finish in their last appearance there in 2020.