Persistence pays off for Mangone

Megan Mangone had been in this position before. She'd play well enough in the qualifying round, but once it got down to crunch time, as she put it, "the wheels would come off" her game.

This time, she vowed, nothing was going to stop her - even torrential rains that forced a nearly four-hour delay at the Nova Southeastern University Shark Invitational.

And nothing did.

The former state champion from Salem (N.H.) High carded a 1-under 71 over the saturated PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens to win her first collegiate tournament after 26 tries dating back to her freshman season.

The Lynn University senior was two strokes better than runner-up Joanna Coes of Rollins, another Florida college, in the rain-shortened tournament.

"This was really special, really, really special," said Mangone, who, in her first contest of the fall season, fired an 82 and tied for 44th place. "It was nice to finally get into a tournament and play well. It was nice to see my name at the top of the leaderboard."

That didn't come without some anxious moments, though.

The 21-year-old communications major was 2-under with seven holes to play when the deluge came and forced the players off the course. When play finally resumed, Mangone went bogey-par-bogey to fall back to even par. She made par at holes 15, 16, and 17, and closed with a tap-in birdie on 18.

"All things considered, I played very well," she said. "I drove the ball well, hit every fairway, sank some putts, and holed out from a bunker. It was most satisfying to win in those conditions."

Mangone's best previous finish was a top five her freshman year. In each of her sophomore and junior seasons, she had one top 15 finish. Her scoring averages were 80.67 as a freshman, 80.93 as a sophomore, and 80.89 last year.

Lynn coach Courtney Bibby was encouraged by Mangone's early-season success.

"Yes, Megan is a senior and, yes, this is her first college win, but it did not come as a surprise," said Bibby "She is a strong athlete and is tremendously talented on the golf course. She has shot under par in tournaments and in practice in the past, so for her to do so again early in the season is extremely encouraging for both her and the team.

"This tournament was difficult not only because of the competitive field but also because of the playing conditions. The course was nearly unplayable. [Mangone] was able to overcome the conditions by remaining positive and mentally tough throughout her round. She is always a very confident and focused golfer, which certainly plays to her benefit. She is a great ball striker and very consistent off the tee and from the fairway. Her course management skills are second to none."

Less than a week after her win, Mangone followed with an 8-over 76-76-152 to finish T5 in the St. Leo Invitational at Tampa Palms Golf Club. That gives her a three-tournament, four-round scoring average of 76.5.

Mangone's younger sister, Rebecca, is a sophomore member of the team. She has yet to play this season, but last year as a freshman, participated in nine tournaments with a scoring average of 80.9.

Merrimack grabbed the lion's share of weekly Northeast-10 Conference and Hockey East honors. Molly Cindric of California and Elyse Lorenz and Alyssa Pickett, both of Illinois, were the NE-10 volleyball player, setter, and libero of the week after wins over Southern Connecticut and University of Massachusetts at Lowell. In football, Mike O'Brien of Marlborough was the week's top defensive player and James Suozzo of Everett top freshman. O'Brien had two interceptions and Suozzo passed for 231 yards in a 27-11 win over Bentley. Field hockey goalkeeper of the week was Shannon Rowley of New Jersey, who logged back-to-back shutouts against Stonehill and Southern New Hampshire. Goalie Joe Cannata of Wakefield made 44 saves en route to a 1-0 win over Army in his first collegiate start and was Hockey East freshman of the week. . . . The Tufts duo of Julia Brown and Meghan McCooey won the Division 3 women's doubles title at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's National Small College Championships in Alabama. . . .

Matt Dubois of Dracut had a pair of goals to lift UMass-Lowell to its fifth straight win, 4-0, over New Haven. Jamie Wangia of Lowell also had a goal and Tim Bengston of Andover two assists. . . . Sophomore Josh Solomon tied the school record for assists with three for the second time this season in Wheaton's 5-0 soccer win over Johnson & Wales. . . . UMass will travel to Sweden for a 10-day baseball tour next August. Included are three games with the Swedish National team. . . .

Francis Hernandez was first and teammate Joey Jourdain third to lift Bishop Guertin to the boys Division 1 title of the Catholic Memorial Cross-Country Invitational at Franklin Park. Jonathan Gault of Bedford led the Division 3 boys. Bromfield took the girls Division 2 title behind the first-place finish of Emily Jones.

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