CLEVELAND, Tenn. – After finishing in sixth place in the NCAA Division II South Regionals with a score of 893 (29-over), the 15th-ranked Saint Leo women's golf did not make the cut to advance to the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament. Saint Leo missed the cut by two strokes as Nova Southeastern placed fifth with a total score of 892 (28-over).

The Lions posted a 294 in the opening round followed by a 300 in the second and a 299 in the final at the Cleveland Country Club.

Graduate student Elena Verticchio led the Lions' lineup as she placed tied for 12th with a score of 220 (four-over) in the 66-golfer field. Her third round kickstarted on the right foot with a birdie on a 470-yard par five on hole one. The Italy native posted a 69, 76, and 75 respectively.

Junior Maya Cote registered a score of 221 (five-over) as she finished in a share of 18th place. She fired a 77 in the first round and a 70 in the second round while capping off her scorecard with a 74 in round three. The Canada native knocked down a pair of birdies in her last round, one on the front nine and one on the back nine.

Junior Pia Perthen tied for 26th with a 224 (eight-over) that featured scores of 75, 76, and 73. During the third round, Perthen notched back-to-back birdies on the back nine to record her lowest score of the tournament, 73.

Sophomore Ana Valentina-Guarderas posted a 77 (five-over) in the third round to bring her three-day score to 229 (13-over) to finish tied for 41st. The Ecuador native posted a birdie during the back nine of today's round. In the opening round, she recorded a 73 followed by a 79 in the second.

Rounding out the Saint Leo scorers was junior Cajsa Strandberg tallied a score of 237 (21-over) as she tied for 62nd. Strandberg recorded a 79 in the opening round followed by a 78 and an 80. The Sweden native highlighted today's round with a pair of birdies one of each nine.

The Lions conclude an impressive 2023-2024 campaign that saw a few firsts in the program's history that included head coach Lyndsey Bevill being honored as the first Saint Leo women's golf coach to be tabbed the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Coach of the Year in addition to the Lions winning its first SSC Championship. This season also marked the first time since 2017 that multiple Lions earned All-SSC status as Cote and Verticchio garnered the recognition.