UNCW Rallies From Ninth to Win Golfweek Fall Challenge

North Carolina-Wilmington's women's golf team came from as low as ninth place through the opening holes to win the 2026 Golfweek Fall Challenge at Caledonia Golf and Fish Club in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, finishing 2-over for 54 holes to beat Campbell by three shots.

How did UNCW erase an early deficit?

Head coach Cindy Ho said her team was near the bottom of the leaderboard through the difficult opening stretch at Caledonia each day of the tournament. The turning point came on the first day, when four of UNCW's five players made birdie on the par-5 sixth hole.

"We had to find a way to right the ship a little bit, and then four of the five players made birdie on No. 6 the first day, and that kind of got us going back in the right direction," Ho said.

A slow first round meant an early tee time on day two, but UNCW gained ground on the field in the second round as winds picked up over the closing holes. Ho pointed to tee shots on the par-3 16th and approach play into 17 and 18 as a difference-maker.

Who led the way for the Seahawks?

Faieta and Chang, who played lower in the lineup a year ago, tied for second individually at 2-under, each posting a second-round 69 that put UNCW in position to win. Campbell's Rivas took the individual title outright at 3-under.

Campbell has now produced an individual winner at the Golfweek Fall Challenge six times across the event's 14 years and has seven team titles in that span, the most of any program. UNCW's win is its second since 2023; the Seahawks finished third last year behind Charlotte and High Point.

UNCW's title came from four birdies on one hole turning a ninth-place start into a three-shot win.

Ho's six-player travel roster included two freshmen, and the team stayed together in condos near the course rather than in hotel rooms. She credited that setup, along with the progress shown by Faieta and Chang since last season, for the team's composure under pressure.