Mercyhurst Prep graduate Sarah White adds PSAC title to her growing Gannon golf resume

When it's "go time" for Sarah White, the Gannon University golfer continues to deliver.White's list of achievements with the Gannon golf team keeps growing, and she's not even halfway through her college career.

In her first season with the team in 2021, she was the PSAC Freshman of the Year and the PSAC Golf Athlete of the Year. She also led the Golden Knights in scoring while helping them the PSAC team title.

On Sunday, the Gannon sophomore reached a notable summit in her career.

White overcame a five-stroke deficit going into the final round of the PSAC tournament to win the individual championship. She made the nine-hole turn at Kutztown's Berkleigh Golf Club still trailing by two strokes.

"At that point," she said, "it was 'OK, it's go time. All the hard work, let's show it off.'”

She did just that.

The Mercyhurst Prep graduate rebounded from a rough second round to turn in a final round of 5-over-par 77 and close with a 54-hole total of 22-over 238. She finished one stroke lower than Warren High School grad Rachel Wilson of California (Pennsylvania) University and Gannon teammate Ditte Petersen.

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“Five strokes back is a significant gap. But it wasn't too big,” White said of her final-round deficit. “I knew that I could still close it and actually flip it by five.”

“Sarah never gives up, even when it's not her day like (Saturday's round),” Gannon coach Scott Stano said.

White also helped Gannon celebrate as a group. The Knights, with a cumulative score of 953, were conference champs for a third consecutive season. They defeated the rival Mercyhurst University Lakers by 42 strokes.

Gannon also broke a tie with California with its record sixth tournament title overall.

“They work so hard, and they care about each other,” Stano said. “They put all of their individual goals behind them and put the team goals first. To win three in a row is a credit to the girls because I didn't hit a single shot.”

White also recorded a 77 during her opening round at Berkleigh, but needed to rally after a dreadful front nine Saturday left her with an 84 for the second round. She was in sixth place in the individual standings after 36 holes.

When the former three-time PIAA medal winner received the PSAC Athlete of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards in 2021, she became the third female golfer who received both awards during the same academic year since the PSAC began female golf competition. The PSAC individual and team titles only add to her two-year whirlwind.

“It's already been the ride of a lifetime being on this team,” White said. “We come from so many different backgrounds from all over the world, but we're the Gannon women's golf team. We're a family.”

Gannon's roster includes five foreign-born players.

Petersen, who tied for second, is from Denmark. Maria Arenas and Manuela Rincon are from Colombia, and Ana Maestro and Andrea Martinez are from Spain.

Katie DeDionisio, who like White is a Mercyhurst Prep graduate, also is listed as a redshirt senior for the 2021-22 Knights.

Stano lauded White as a player who's naturally talented, but relentlessly strives to improve.

As for last Sunday, Stano was unsure if White would overcome her five-shot deficit.

But he was sure she could.

“We really didn't talk about a score (Sunday)," he said. "We just talked about making one par, and then see what happens.

“Sure enough, she got into a nice rhythm and made some tough putts.”

White was overwhelmed for what she's already accomplished over the first half of her college career.

“But there's still a lot of room for improvement,” she said. “I can do a lot more.”

Helping Gannon advance to the NCAA Division II women's golf tournament fits into that criteria.

The Knights, as the PSAC's top team, can do that through the Atlantic/East Regional. The 54-hole event starts Monday at Shoal Creek Golf Course in Kansas City, Missouri.

The top five teams will move on to the Division II tournament the following week at Chattahoochee Golf Club in Gainesville, Georgia.

If White and her teammates seek more initiative to play well at their regional, they only need follow Stano's motivation.

Gannon is seeded 14th among the 15 teams scheduled to compete at Shoal Creek.

“I think we're a little better than that,” Stano said.

Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Mercyhurst Prep grad Sarah White adds PSAC title to Gannon golf resume