PEMBROKE — In September 2020, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s women’s golf team was told that their program was being suspended for two years.

Just 19 months later, UNCP women’s golfers walked off the course at Cateechee Golf Club in Hartwell, Georgia as conference champions.

A roller-coaster two-year period for the program culminated last week by winning both the team and individual Conference Carolinas championship, with Georgia Page claiming the individual title.

“It was obtainable, so we worked hard, we put in the work, coach prepared us well, and it ultimately paid off at the end,” Page said. “Walking off the course knowing that we were the champions was the greatest feeling in the entire world, and I know we all felt that same way. It’s a moment to remember.”

UNCP’s 54-hole team score of 923 was 36 strokes better than runner-up Mount Olive; Page finished at 15-over 228 for a two-stroke win over Braves teammate Toni Blackwell. The final 36 holes were played on one day on April 4 due to inclement weather approaching the next day; Page came from behind to pass the 36-hole leader, Erskine’s Amanda Guzman, with a final-round 75.

“That final day we played two rounds back to back, and I think that really helped because I didn’t have that extra pressure, and I didn’t know that I was in the lead either,” Page said. “I just kept doing what I was doing and it paid off.”

A redshirt-junior from Sydney, Australia, Page came to UNCP after playing at Johnson & Wales University in Miami. While she was not a part of the UNCP program when it was suspended, she also experienced a program being cut when Johnson & Wales discontinued all athletics in 2020, before ultimately committing to UNCP with 24 hours of receiving the Braves’ offer.

Page was named Conference Carolinas Player of the Year; she also earned the league’s Elite 23 Award, which goes to the highest GPA in the conference.

“I’m sure there’s not many conference champions that also won the Elite 23 award, so that just shows the work ethic that she has, on the course and in the classroom, and she has been an outstanding player and teammate all season,” UNCP coach Hannah Luckett said.

Blackwell, a sophomore from Fayetteville, was the 18-hole leader in the conference tournament after an opening 75, but fell to a tie for fourth with a second-round 81. She got back to second place by shooting a season-best 74 in the final round.

“I started off my first nine (of the second round) with a couple of bad holes,” Blackwell said. “After that I played pretty consistent for the rest of the day and just tried to take it shot by shot. I just strung holes together good and just kept staying in the moment.”

Amanda Hamrin shot 73 in the final round, the best score in the field, to finish seventh at 24-over 237. Samantha DeBusk and Elizabeth Ritchie each tied for eighth at 26-over 239.

UNCP suspended its women’s golf program in September 2020 amid budget constraints during the COVID-19 pandemic, but reinstated the program that December, roughly 21 months earlier than expected.

“It was very sad and stressful when we found all that out, trying to find a new school and trying to find where you’re going to go, or if you’re going to stay and just do academics,” Blackwell said. “When we got the program back that was very exciting, very good. We played last year with our athletic director (Dick Christy) as coach and that worked out good, and then we got Coach Luckett and it’s just been a really good experience. She’s helped us work hard and reach our goals.”

“I did not experience what the girls went through two semesters ago; however, getting to see the results of how defeated the were when I came in, versus where we’re at now, has been really rewarding for me as a coach,” said Luckett, who was hired in May 2021 and was named Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year this season. “As soon as I came in they were excited to have me, excited to have a program and ready to get to work, and ready to win a conference championship.”

The perseverance shown by those within the program through that adversity has also shown as they’ve improved throughout the season, culminating in last week’s triumph.

“You can’t change the past, and in golf you’re going to make mistakes, but it’s working out how to recover from those,” Page said. “And that’s what our coach has really taught us this semester is to really keep pushing on, because at the end of the day, each individual plays a very important role in the team.”

“What’s allowed them to do that is starting back in August working hard, and not giving up on not seeing results right away,” Luckett said. “That was our big thing is it takes time to see results, and so finally now that this semester we started seeing our scores drop a little bit has been very rewarding, and has definitely put a little fire under them to keep doing what they’re doing.”

The Braves will now represent Conference Carolinas in the NCAA Southeast Regional, which will be held May 2-4 in Davie, Florida.

“Honestly, (we’re) pretty prepared,” Page said. “I think if we keep doing the same things we were doing, training hard, all those sorts of things, we will have a good chance.”