Charleston, S.C. – Two of the five matches in Tuesday's Championship pairing required a playoff hole to decide the victor as top-seeded James Madison upended defending event champion Western Carolina, 3.0-to-2.0, to conclude action at the 2023 Oyster Shuck Match Play, hosted by The Citadel at the par-72, 5,810-yard Charleston Municipal Golf Course.
 
WCU's runner-up finish was its third podium finish in a match-play event over the past two seasons, while also running the string of either champion or runner-up finishes to five straight to start the 2022-23 season. The Catamounts claimed three-straight team titles to open the year and have posted second-place showings in their last two tournaments, closing the fall with a runner-up at the Buccaneer Classic before today's second-place finish at the Oyster Shuck.
 
Fifth-year senior Madison Isaacson claimed all three of her matches in the tournament to lead the Catamounts, downing JMU's Amelia Williams 2UP in Tuesday's final round. Redshirt freshman Kayleigh Baker tallied her second match win of the event with a 1UP victory over Haley Quickel.
 
Both senior Victoria Ladd and freshman Brie Mapanao saw their rounds extended to 19 holes with Mapanao falling 1UP before Ladd succumbed to Kate Owens 1UP for the deciding point. Sophomore Elizabeth Lohbauer dropped her match to JMU's Kendall Turner, 2&1.
 
WCU advanced through Monday's opening round with a 3.5-to-1.5 victory over Appalachian State before downing in-state Southern Conference foe UNCG 4.5-to-0.5 to land in the event's championship match.
 
Western Carolina returns to the South Carolina Lowcountry in two weeks for the RiverTowne Invitational, hosted by Charleston Southern at the RiverTowne Country Club in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountWGolf).
 

Championship Match (Tues., Feb. 14):

James Madison (3.0) def. Western Carolina (2.0)
Kate Owens (JMU) def Victoria Ladd (WCU), 1UP ^
Madison Isaacson (WCU) def Amelia Williams (JMU), 2UP
Kayleigh Baker (WCU) def Haley Quickel (JMU), 1UP
Kayleigh Reinke (JMU) def Brie Mapanao (WCU), 1UP ^
Kendall Turner (JMU) def Elizabeth Lohbauer (WCU), 2&1
^ - 19 holes
 

Winner's Bracket – Semifinal Match (Mon., Feb. 13):

Western Carolina (4.5) def UNCG (0.5)
Madison Isaacson (WCU) def Anna Bowman (UNCG), 4&3
Kayleigh Baker (WCU) def Victoria Cook (UNCG), 3&2
Elizabeth Lohbauer (WCU halve Ava Romfo (UNCG), AS
Brie Mapanao (WCU) def Grace Holcomb (UNCG), 2UP
Victoria Ladd (WCU) def Julia Baeumken (UNCG), 1UP
 

Opening Round Match (Mon., Feb. 13):

Western Carolina (3.5) def. App State (1.5)
Madison Isaacson (WCU) def Meghan Mitchell (APP), 7&5
Brie Mapanao (WCU) halve Braelyn Pippin (APP), AS
Elizabeth Lohbauer (WCU) def Layla Meric (APP), 4&3
Victoria Ladd (WCU) def Jacquelyn Taylor (APP), 7&6
Hannah Wang (APP) def Kayleigh Baker (WCU), 5&3