BAYONET POINT - Louisville's Adrienne White didn't see it coming.
On a playoff on the final day of the Beacon Woods Invitational, White was tied with Georgia State's Lisbeth Meincke for the best score of the weekend, 4-under par.
Her teammates, coach and onlookers followed in golf carts. The first hole? Par for both. Meincke pulled a ball out of the rough on the second hole. Tied. And the third?
White lobbed a shot off the tee. It hung for what seemed like an eternity. Heads gazed upward. Her team, watching from the side, screamed at the ball.
"Hit! Stick! Drop! Roll!"
With a birdie on the third hole, White did it. She was the weekend's top performer, carrying through in a nail-biting finish to a weekend that set course records and made a few coaches very happy.
"I didn't really come in expecting anything," White said. "I've never been under par for three days; that was my goal coming in, and it just happened that I got a pretty good round today and ended up in the playoff."
East Carolina won the tournament, shooting 14-over. South Florida placed third at 23-over, USF's second team sixth at 34-over and Stetson 12th at 114-over.
After winning last year, USF faced stiff competition from a dozen schools from around the country. A dozen teams from eight states competed in the event's 27th year at Beacon Woods Golf Club.
USF coach Susan Holt was pleased with her team's performance.
"This year we reached third and played six strokes better," Holt said. "I think it says a lot for where women's college golf is going. Scores every year just keep dropping and dropping."
USF was led by junior Fernanda Rivera, who set a women's course record on the first day, shooting 67, or 5-under, from the white tees. She tied for fourth on Sunday, shooting even par for the tournament.
East Carolina coach Kevin Williams gleamed as he accepted the trophy for his group. Most teams had already left with planes to catch; the playoff made things run longer than expected.
Calling it a "total team victory," Williams said consistent play from each team member led to the win.
East Carolina had four players with top ten scores. Heidi Helliesen led the team, placing third at 2-under. Adrienne Millican, called one of the NCAA's top 50 female players to watch, placed sixth at 1-over.
