HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – Starting the second round of the Golfweek DII Fall Invitational at Mission Inn Resort, Saint Leo women's golf, ranked eighth in the country, erased an 10-stroke deficit to No. 15 Florida Southern and a seven-stroke deficit to No. 1 Dallas Baptist to take home the team title by one stroke. 
 
Junior Francesca Santoni, who led wire-to-wire, held on to win the medalist honors at four-under after carding an even-par 72 on the 6,012-yard Las Colinas course. Santoni led a Lions club that put together 16 birdies over the final round to climb two spots on the team leaderboard, fending off No. 1 Dallas Baptist 598 (+22) to 599 (+23).
 
Three Lions finished inside the top-20 with Izzy Lawrence joining Santoni inside the top-5 with a fifth-place finish at five-over 149 following a final round 72 (E).
 
The Lions battled Dallas Baptist and day one leader, Florida Southern to the finish and came away on top with one stroke dividing the top-three places. The Lions turned in the best round of the day of six-over 294 to claim the first team title of the season. DBU took second at 599 (+23) after a final round 302 (+14) while FSC took third at 600 (+24) following Tuesday's 306 (+18).  

Saint Leo Scores
1st – Saint Leo, 304-294, 598 (+22)
1 – Francesca Santoni, 68-72, 140 (-4)
T5 – Izzy Lawrence, 77-72, 149 (+5)
T16 – Isabel Nesteus, 75-77, 152 (+8)
T35 – Synne Lauritzen, 87-73, 160 (+16)
T39 – Rose Morissette, 84-77, 161 (+17)
T54 – Jasmin Pnaiser⁺, 82-85, 167 (+23)
⁺ - playing as an individual

Up Next
Saint Leo will turn to Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club on Oct. 14-15 to host the Saint Leo Invitational on the South Course with a shotgun start on the 14^th and a split tee time on the 15^th.  

For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo women's golf program be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.