Nova Southeastern outduels Flagler at Golfweek D2 Fall Challenge

There may be no better motto for a South Florida team mid-hurricane season than the one Nova Southeastern head coach Heather Wall is employing in the team van this fall: Control the controllables.

That strikes out weather, of course, but zeroes in on elements like picking smart lines and walking with confidence. The Sharks did all that at the Raven Golf Club in Sandestin, Florida, on their way to winning the Golfweek D2 Fall Challenge on Oct. 4.

Nova Southeastern took an early lead with a round of even-par 284, held that advantage through 36 holes then spent much of the final round bouncing back and forth with Flagler College. Nova won the team title by a one-shot margin at 19 over.

Wall’s small group of seven is a close-knit squad. There isn’t a senior on the team, but a pair of freshmen voices carry weight. In Sandestin, Emma Larsen won the individual title at 1 under while classmate Olivia Gronborg, who tied for second individually, brought in a final-round 4-under 67 that tipped the scales in Nova’s favor.

Larsen birdies at No. 16 – where she chipped in – and No. 17 – where she made a 20-footer – were key for the Sharks.

“The two new girls have kind of come in, which I was hoping, making a huge impact, kind of setting the pace already for the rest of the team, and everyone has just kind of followed suit,” said Wall.

The Golfweek Fall Challenge was Nova’s first outing this season but came after five qualifying rounds back home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Junior Ellen Andersson finished 90 holes at 7 under and won qualifying by nine shots. She logged a T-20 in Sandestin.

“We’re just trying to really work on what we can control and being decisive and aggressive to our targets – not going for pins, just playing smart golf and making a lot of pars and minimizing the mistakes as much as possible,” Wall said.

Hurricane Ian, which made devastating landfall across the state and sent heavy rain and wind all the way to the East Coast, caused course closures in the days leading up to Nova’s fall debut. Wall leaned on the work that had already gone in.

“Our course has been closed, but before that, we were putting in a lot of really good, hard work and we were just trying to stack conditions in our favor,” she said.

At Flagler, nearly 300 miles north in St. Augustine, Florida, it was much the same story. Head coach Santiago Cavanagh said…