ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon women’s golf team will make its fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II East Regional on Monday, May 5 to Wednesday, May 7. Coach Scott Stano‘s squad claimed an automatic spot in the NCAA playoffs by winning the PSAC championship for the sixth consecutive year last weekend in Kutztown, Pa.

 

Gannon is one of 72 teams nationwide and 18 teams in the East Region to claim a spot in the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships. The Golden Knights are seeded eighth in the 18-team East Regional, which will be played at The Meadows Golf Club in Allendale, Mich. and hosted by No. 2 seed Grand Valley State.

 

Findlay is the No. 1 seed in the regional followed by GVSU. The rest of the top five includes No. 3 Missouri-St. Louis, No. 4 UIndy, and No. 5 Tiffin. The second five includes No. 6 Ferris State, No. 7 Ashland, No. 8 Gannon, No. 9 Wayne State (Mich.), and No. 10 Davenport.

Also included in the East Regional field are Drury, McKendree, Maryville (Mo.), Ohio Dominican, Saginaw Valley State, Franklin Pierce, Glenville State, and Illinois Springfield

Six individuals complete the field: Sydney Hugo, Walsh; Lucia Martin, Charleston (WV); AJ Powell, Wisconsin-Parkside; Abby Wolff, William Jewell; Addie Delcamp, Northwood; and Rockhurst’s Grace Claney.

The top five team finishers in the 54-hole East Regional team competition will advance to the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships on May 13-17 at Boulder Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nev. The top five teams from the East and West Regions and the top four teams in the Central and South along with the top two individuals not on an advancing team will advance to the championships.

 

STANO COMMENTS 

“We’re very excited for the opportunity to compete in this year’s regional,” related Stano. “We have worked hard since August for this tournament. We have started to play better each tournament in the spring and we’re starting to get into a nice groove. We set up a difficult tournament schedule to help prepare us for this tournament. Top to bottom of the team I am so proud of this year’s team.  They believe in one another. They have the focus and determination to put themselves in contention for a spot to move on come Wednesday.”

 

GOLDEN KNIGHTS SHOWCASE SEASONED LINEUP 

Gannon enjoyed another strong season with wins in three events. Stano’s squad has won its last two tournaments, finishing first by 20 strokes in the recent PSAC Championships and prior to that a first-place showing in the Cav Classic.

 

Gannon has now won a PSAC-record six straight PSAC Championships and Ditte Petersen (Dianalund, Denmark/Sorø Akademi Skole) won her third straight individual title, which has also never been done before. Petersen has been named the PSAC Women’s Golf Athlete of the Year the last two years and was previously named the PSAC Freshman of the Year.

 

Petersen’s win in the PSAC Championships also tied her for the career record at Gannon with seven victories. She has three first-place finishes this season and has been in the top five in six of 11 tournaments. The senior from Denmark enters with a 76.0 average over 23 rounds.

 

Fellow senior Andrea Martinez (Tarragona, Spain/Col·legi Vedruna Sagrat Cor) and junior Emily Donahue (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) add experience to the lineup. Martinez, a native of Spain, has a 79.4 average over 23 rounds and recently finished fourth at the Cav Classic. She was also second at the Michael Corbett Fall Classic.

 

Donahue is a junior with an 82.8 average over 20 rounds. She has played some of her best golf this spring to grab a spot in the lineup. Donahue finished in a tie for 12th in the PSAC Championships.

 

Cloe Mateo (Sabadell, Spain/Montcau la Mola) and Alexandria LeCureux (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) provide the youth in the lineup. Mateo is a sophomore from Spain and has a 79.1 average in 21 rounds. She owns three top ten finishes and was tied for third at the PSAC Championships.

 

LeCureux is second on the team with a 79.0 average in 23 rounds with five top-five showings. The freshman has six finishes in the top ten and posted her highest showing of the season at the PSAC Championships with a tie for third.   

 

Victoria Colmenares (Santa Cruz, Bolivia/ICL Academy) will serve as Gannon’s substitute. A sophomore from Bolivia, she has an 84.5 average in 13 rounds.      

 

TAKING A LOOK BACK AT THE 2024 EAST REGIONAL

Gannon posted its highest finish ever at the NCAA Division II East Regional. The Golden Knights tied for seventh place in the 15-team regional, missing the last of five qualifying spots for the NCAA finals by just two places and seven strokes.  

 

Ditte Petersen (Dianalund, Denmark/Sorø Akademi Skole) shot a 2-over-par 74 on Wednesday, and the Knights turned in an impressive score of 21-over-par 309 on the tough Prairie View Golf Club course.

 

Gannon tied Ferris State with a three-day score of 949 as the Knights’ scores improved on each of the final two days. After opening in 11th place with a 327 score on Monday, Gannon shot 313 on Tuesday and 309 on Wednesday. Gannon’s 309 was the fourth-best score of the day among the 15 teams.

 

Ditte Petersen (Dianalund, Denmark/Sorø Akademi Skole) was Gannon’s top finisher and also posted a better score each day. Petersen finished in a tie for 11th with scores of 80-77-74 for a 15-over par total of 231.        

 

Cloe Mateo (Sabadell, Spain/Montcau la Mola) (79-85-77) and Andrea Martinez (Tarragona, Spain/Col·legi Vedruna Sagrat Cor) (85-75-81) each finished in a tie for 44th with a 25-over par total of 241. Sarah White (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) T48 — 83-80-80—243 +27) and Zoey McClain (Erie, Pa./McDowell) (T56 — 89-81-78—248 +32) completed Gannon’s contingent of golfers.

THE GANNON LINEUP FOR NCAA DIV. II EAST REGIONAL

1. Ditte Petersen (Dianalund, Denmark/Sorø Akademi Skole) (Sr., 76.0 avg. in 23 rounds)     

2. Andrea Martinez (Tarragona, Spain/Col·legi Vedruna Sagrat Cor) (Sr., 79.4 avg. in 23 rounds)        

3. Alexandria LeCureux (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) (Fr., 79.0 avg. in 23 rounds)          

4. Cloe Mateo (Sabadell, Spain/Montcau la Mola) (So., 79.1 avg. in 21 rounds)          

5. Emily Donahue (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) (Jr., 82.8 avg. in 20 rounds)

 

Substitute

Victoria Colmenares (Santa Cruz, Bolivia/ICL Academy) (So., 84.5 avg. in 13 rounds)     

The AVP Huntington Beach Open Heritage Event is just around the corner, and this year’s competition promises to be an electrifying showcase of professional beach volleyball. Scheduled for May 10–11, this prestigious event is the last opportunity for aspiring teams to claim a coveted spot in the 2025 AVP League. With only two of eight AVP League qualification spots remaining, this event will make or break teams’ seasons.

1. How Teams Qualify for the AVP League

Automatic Qualifiers (2024 Top-4 Duos)

• Men’s: Chase Budinger / Miles Evans • Miles Partain / Andy Benesh • Taylor Crabb / Taylor Sander
• Women’s: Geena Urango / Toni Rodriguez • Hailey Harward / Kylie Deberg

Wildcard Invites

Taryn Brasher / Kristen Nuss • Brandie Wilkerson / Melissa Humana-Paredes • Phil Dalhausser / Trevor Crabb

Path to the League
Key Rule: A team’s best two finishes—one of which must be from Huntington Beach—decide the final two leaderboard berths, unless a team wins the Open outright.

1. April 12 & 26 Qualifiers (16-team fields; points count only toward the leaderboard)
   April 12 Winners: Hagen Smith / Logan Webber (M) • Megan Rice / Corinne Quiggle (W)
   April 26 Winners: James Shaw / Chaim Schalk (M) • Lexy Denaberg / Julia Scoles (W)
2. May 10–11 Huntington Beach Open (Heritage Event; full AVP points + one automatic spot)
3. The Final Showdown: Huntington Beach Open

• Format: 16-team single elimination—win four matches and you’re in.
• Men’s and Women’s Frontrunners to Qualify:
  • Men’s: Seain Cook / Brian Miller—two surprise runner-up finishes in April set a high bar.
  • Women’s: Savannah Simo / Abby Van Winkle—consistent leaders who skip Friday’s qualifier.
  • Underdog Twist: Jaden Whitmarsh / Devon Newberry, despite sitting second in points, must battle through Friday’s qualifier—and then the main draw—to keep their bid alive.

2. Where Teams Stand

While exact odds shift with every serve, here’s the pecking order heading into the bracket:

Men’s Qualification Standings:

Women’s Qualification Standings:

What this means: If/when front-runners stumble, the door cracks open for the next wave of title-hungry duos.

3. Breaking the Tie: How League Spots Will Be Decided

In the event of a tie between two or more teams in the standings of the 2025 League Qualification Series for the final spot(s) in the League, the following tiebreak procedures will be applied in order:

1. Huntington Beach Finish – Whoever finishes higher at the Huntington Beach Heritage event moves on to the AVP League.
2. Set Ratio at Huntington Beach – If teams bow out in the same round in Huntington Beach, their set ratio (sets won ÷ sets lost) becomes the decider.
3. Point Ratio at Huntington Beach – Still tied? The next factor is total points scored ÷ points allowed across all Huntington Beach Heritage event matches.
4. Tiebreak Set to 15 – If it’s still even after all that? One winner-take-all set to 15 will be played between the tied teams to determine which team advances.

4. Finish Thresholds at a Glance

To give fans a clear “line in the sand,” we’ve calculated the minimum finish each contender needs—based on where the Men’s and Women’s Frontrunners land—to surpass their total points and grab one of the last two leaderboard spots.

Note: This isn’t a perfect predictor—matchups, momentum, and upsets all matter—but it gives a useful reference for what “deep” really means on the sand.

Example Scenarios:

• If the Front-runners finish 5th, teams sitting one place behind them need a semifinal result, while those near 2,095 must win to qualify.
• If the Front-runners slip to 9th, contenders teams sitting one place behind can possibly lock in a spot by simply reaching the quarterfinals and those teams tied for 4th for the Men and 5th for the women would need to reach the semifinals.

Use these thresholds to track the action: every match for the chasing pack is more than a victory—it’s a ticket closer to the AVP League.

5. How to Watch & Attend

Tickets: This event is open to the public but STADIUM COURT is ticketed and selling fast!

Live-Stream: Watch every play on Stadium and Court 1 live on BallyLIVE (May 10–11).