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| Iacobelli (right) poses with her coach, Janie Farina, at the championships. |
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| Iacobelli tees off at the National Championships. |
Sophomore Daniela Iacobelli kept her eye on the big prize and grabbed the golden ring with the most consistent scoring for the 72-hole, four-round tournament as she became the 2007 NCAA Division II National Women’s Golf Champion.
Iacobelli became the first golfer participating as an individual in the history of the NCAA Division II women’s golf tournament to earn medalist honors. After starting the day tied for first place, Iacobelli eagled the par five 10th hole and followed with a birdie on the par three 12th en route to the title. She finished the tournament with a five-over 293 (72-74-73-74).
“It was very challenging because it was just me without the support of my teammates,” said Iacobelli. “After my round, I was pacing the clubhouse and preparing for a possible playoff by practicing on the putting green. The course was nice, but it was hard when it was hot. The greens were tricky and the pin placement was difficult.”
Despite her incredible season play and winning the conference tournament, Iacobelli was snubbed by the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) voters for the 2007 All-Conference Team. This snub did not affect her play. At the NCAA, she proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was among the best in the nation.
One of the top moments of her four-day play came in the final round. For the second straight day, Iacobelli eagled the 10th hole after an incredible drive that landed uphill from the green. Her short game proved advantageous, as she chipped in both times. As a result of great shotmaking skill, she made two of the four eagles of the 2007 NCAA National Championships.
Iacobelli, a business administration major, earlier won the 2007 SSC Women’s Golf Championship Medalist honors after a playoff at Florida Tech’s home course at the Duran Golf Club in Viera, Fla. She won the four-hole playoff over Nova Southeastern’s Maria Garcia-Austt to claim women’s medalist accolades. She was Tech’s first
ever women’s golfer to make the all-tournament team as well.
A local standout golfer from Satellite Beach High School, she is a two-year member of the four-year-old program. She earned 2006 SSC Women’s Freshman Golfer of the Year. Iacobelli strived under the play-off pressure after grabbing par on the
10 through 13 holes to overcome Austt in the final hole with a two-putt finish to her competitor’s three-putt finish.
Iacobelli’s career low round is
71, and she has won two collegiate tournaments in her short career. She is currently ranked #1 in the nation by GolfStat for par 5 scoring with a 4.91 as well as sub par strokes per round
at 2.88.
“I knew she could do it … she is a special gal with a special talent … I have been privileged to be part of her success,” said Panther’s Head Coach Janie Farina. “This is a big milestone in my life to see Daniela earn the highest honors any collegiate golfer can win especially coming into the tournament as a long shot.”
Christa
Parulis-Kaye
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