SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. — Junior Lynn Thompson, 44, has become the first national champion, team or individual, in the history of Thomas More (formerly Villa Madonna) College by winning the individual title Friday at the NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship.

        A junior from Loveland, Thompson posted the lowest score in the first, second and fourth rounds at The Orchards Golf Club. She finished the four-day tournament with a 24-over-par 312, seven strokes ahead of runner-up Rachele Miller of Mary Hardin.

        Methodist won its sixth team championship, in only seven years of the tournament, with a score of 158 over par, which was 31 strokes better than second-place Mary Hardin.

        Thomas More has flirted with national championship before, beginning with the 1992 volleyball team which advanced to the final eight in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Calvin in the national quarterfinals. In 2000, the Thomas More baseball team advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament and finished with a school-best 32-13 record. Most recently, the football team posted a 10-0 regular-season record this past fall, advancing to the second round of the 2001 NCAA Division III Football Championship and finishing with an 11-1 record.

        Thompson competed in eight tournaments this spring, playing a total of 12 rounds. She won every tournament, including the Von Lehman & Co. Spring Collegiate Classic held by Northern Kentucky University. She entered the nationals ranked No. 1 with a 76.25 scoring average.

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