PARKLAND, Fla. -- Make it two in a row.
Barry University women's golf team won its second straight event Saturday, beating Lynn University by four strokes at the Buccaneers' triangular meet at Parkland Golf & Country Club.
No. 6 nationally-ranked Barry, which was coming off a win at Wingate's tournament two weeks ago, shot 318 Saturday on the par-72, 6,229-yard course. No. 2 Lynn shot 322 in the 19-player field. Florida Tech finished third with a 342.
"Getting a win late in the season is really, really important," Barry coach Gina Umeck said. "I think it's the most important time to win. You're fighting a lot of things when you come to the end of things, and it keeps momentum coming forward. It really restarts the motivation when you win late."
Lynn's Irene Calvo won the individual medalist honor after shooting 76. Barry's Taylor Babcock shot 77 to take the runner-up honor. Bucs teammate Nancy Vergara shot 78 to finish third, helping to position Barry at the top of the team standings.
"The good thing about that is that our top individual finisher has been somebody different every week," Umeck said. "That testisfies to the depth. Any given day, anybody on my squad can win the tournament, individually. Nancy has always been a rock for us the whole year. Taylor has really asserted her leadership position pretty consistently throughout the year. Dani (Murray) has also been giving us solid contributions since she began in January."
Barry's Paola Grande shot 81 to finish sixth, and Murray had an 82 to finish tied for seventh. Samantha Smolen of Lynn shot 79, and Rachel Polson of Florida Tech shot 80 to finish fifth. Grande led the field in par-4 scoring at +1.
Barry's Francesca Perini tied for 11th with an 84. Teammate Lizzi Over and Anne Fourdraine each shot 90, playing as individuals. Perini had two birdies, as did Vergara, to lead all golfers.
"It was great that Nancy and I could post two good scores on such a windy day," said Babcock, who was an event-best 1-under on par-5 scoring. "Our scores were really important against Lynn, seing that they're always at the top of the leaderboard. Once we start getting four consistent scores is when we can finish at the top of the leaderboard consistently."
For the past two weeks, that's where the Bucs have found themselves -- at the top of the leaderboard. That, alone, is a good sign heading into the Sunshine State Conference Championships in Bradenton, Fla., April 16-17.
"It gives us a lot of confidence," Vergara said. "I know that when all of them bring their games, we can shoot really good scores. Winning against Lynn, who is a really good team, feels really good."