ODU’s Leah Onosato makes program history, wins Sun Belt Conference women’s golf championship

Staff report

Old Dominion’s Leah Onosato became the first women’s golfer in program history to win a conference tournament, capturing the individual title at the Sun Belt Conference championship Tuesday at LPGA International’s Hills Course in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Onosato, a graduate student from Kumamoto, Japan, had a three-round total of 2-under 214 and was the only player to finish under par. She led throughout the event, following an opening round of 4-under 68 with back-to-back 73s to post a two-shot victory over Louisiana Monroe’s Chantal Dueringer.

“Leah has always been close to the top, but not quite on top,” ODU head coach Mallory Kane said via odusports.com. “She’s been resilient and gracious. Today, she finally punched her way through in dominating fashion. It’s such a feat to win wire-to-wire and be the only player to shoot under for the tournament.”

Onosato automatically qualifies for the NCAA regionals, which will be held on May 8-10. It’s the fifth straight season that the Monarchs will be represented in the postseason.

The Monarchs finished seventh in the 13-team field, moving up two spots in the final round. Louisiana Monroe won the team event with a 16-over 880. It tied with Texas State but won a tiebreaker.

Onosato offset three bogeys with birdies on the par-4 sixth hole and par-4 10th hole in her final round. She finished 13 pars, including the final two holes.

“I’m so happy she’s our first-ever individual conference champion,” Kane said. “She has always represented ODU with class and I’m thrilled she will have yet another opportunity to represent our team and university at the NCAA Tournament.”

The Monarchs’ Lucia Gonzalez tied for 21st, and Klara Wildhaber tied for 31st.