LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. — Sami Penor was the only one of the five Biola Eagles competing this week who had previous experience at a PacWest Conference championship. The senior's experience and resolve proved pivotal as she had the chance to clinch the tournament for Biola on the final hole of 54.

Penor nailed her tee shot and set up a long birdie putt on hole 18 with unknowns still swirling all around her as Biola and Dominican had traded the tournament lead all day long. 

Penor would end up making par on the final hole, which proved to be enough to lock in the Eagles' first-ever PacWest Conference title as they carded a three-day total of 928 (+64) to win by three strokes over the Penguins.

"I am super excited. I am so proud of my teammates," said Penor. "When we came off the 18th hole, I wasn't quite sure that we won. And then the coach finally pulled us aside and was like, 'Hey, I think we just won PacWest.'"

The entire tournament essentially came down to the final two holes of play. Those holes had been a struggle for Biola the first two days of competition, but when it was all on the line on day three Head Coach Jane Carr's team stepped up.

"Today was spectacular. We were chasing and we wanted to win for our one senior," said Carr. "I am so proud of this team. They fought out there. They never gave up." 

The winning tally of three strokes is a significant number, as that is the number of strokes Biola trailed the Penguins as the tournament field progressed into holes 16, 17 and 18. The Eagles' four scoring players had just shot four-over par between holes 13 and 16 to see what was a one-stroke lead turn into a three-stroke deficit. 

Biola and the Penguins were both one over par on the 16th hole, meaning Dominican maintained their three-stroke lead heading into the final two holes of the tournament. Hole 17 was where the Eagles made the biggest charge and flipped the leaderboard once more. Ultimately, this was the hole that would earn BU its title.

"When they made the official announcement we all started screaming, someone was throwing water on us and we were just like hugging each other," said Penor. "And then I started crying, which made everyone else cry. We were all just crying and laughing, and just so overjoyed."
 

THEY DID IT!

For the first time in history, @biolau Golf is @ThePacWest champs!

Biola made up FIVE strokes on the last two holes to pass Dominican for the win.

CONGRATS!

(Video contains cheering) pic.twitter.com/Y6PawujY74

— Biola Athletics (@BiolaAthletics) April 20, 2022

The Eagles shot three pars and one bogey on 17, while the opponents logged a total of six-over on the penultimate hole, giving Biola a two-stroke buffer headed into 18. Even the tournament's individual champion, Dominican's Claire Shubin, shot over par on hole 17.

Melanie Reyes was the first Eagle to finish hole 18. She started it off strong, shooting a birdie to improve the Biola lead again. 

Hole 18 was a favorite for Reyes, who birdied there on each of the last two days of the tournament. Melanie had her best round of the tournament on Wednesday, shooting a 76 to trail only Lauren Lee on the day.

Lee was the second to finish her round for BU. She kept up the hole 18 scoring by carding a par there to close her day with a 75. This was also her best round of the tournament. She dropped strokes each day of competition to finish with a 232 (80-77-75). Her score of 16-over was the second-best tournament score for Biola. She earned a top-10 finish, placing eighth.

Dominican made back one stroke as the third pairings finished hole 18, positioning themselves two strokes behind BU with just Penor, Brady Turnquist and Dominican's No. 1 and No. 2 still out on the course.

A two-stroke lead still did not feel too safe at that point with Dominican's top-2 individuals both in the mix top-3 individual finishes. They both carded 75 or less in each of their first two rounds.

A closer look at the scorecards tells a different story, though. That pair shot +3 on hole 18 just yesterday so low scores were no sure bet. The +3 matched the scores Penor and Turnquist turned in on 18 in some difficult winds one day ago.

Turnquist and Dominican's Angelica Antonio both bogeyed on 18 to bring everything to a crescendo as Penor, Shubin and Academy of Art's Anahi Servin took their spots in the final tee-box. 

Penor found a par, as did Servin, but Shubin bogeyed and made it official that Biola would be crowned PacWest Champions. 

"We're so new. But this has been our goal all year," said Carr. "I started out the season and I said, write down these seven schools' names. These are the PacWest teams and we want to be the champions this year. We want to make the history books at Biola"

Shubin secured a tournament final of 221 (+5) and had her best round of the tournament during this final day to win the individual title. She beat Servin by just one stroke. This was significant as Servin had won each of the last three PacWest titles.

Penor was the highest-finishing Eagle, turning in a 230 (+14) to finish tied for sixth nine strokes back from Shubin. She finished inside of the top-10 individually in both PacWest Championships she had the opportunity to compete in (2019, 2022). She split the difference between her round 1 and round 2 scores with a final day 77.

Biola shot 11 rounds better than 80 over the course of the three-day event. No other team managed more than seven rounds at better than 80. The course average over the 54 holes was 80.86. All of that speaks to an incredibly bright future for the Biola team.

This iteration of the Eagles' tournament travel roster featured three freshmen and a sophomore.
 

Thank you, @ThePacWest. This is the #PacBest. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/YlwFS6jntI

— Biola Athletics (@BiolaAthletics) April 20, 2022

Brady Turnquist, who had the best regular season in Biola Golf history, was the third finisher for Biola in this one. She carded a 235 to finish just outside of the top-10 in 11th-place. Look for big things from her at regionals as Biola returns to the scene of one of her five top-5 finishes this year.

Reyes and Rachel Shaw were just one spot back from Turnquist in a tie for 12th at 238 (+22).

The three freshmen, one sophomore and one senior sure did make the record books this week. Its the team's first conference title and is just the third official PacWest Conference title in school history.

Up next for the PacWest Champions is the NCAA West Region Championships on May 2 - 4 up in Stockton. The Eagles go back to the site of the Visit Stockton Invite, Brookside Country Club.

"I am looking forward to playing the course again," said Penor. "We played it earlier in the year as part of a tournament, and so I feel really good about bringing the girls back into Stockton, California, which is where regionals is. I think we're going to play really well and we're going to try to make that final push for nationals."

Hear from top finisher Sami Penor & coach Jane Carr! pic.twitter.com/F5KgUIkPT3

— Biola Athletics (@BiolaAthletics) April 20, 2022

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