Eleventh Ranked Women’s Golf Tied for Third After Opening Round of UCF Challenge

Orlando, Fla. – Mississippi State women’s golf opened the 2023 portion with a stellar first eighteen holes of golf from the UCF Challenge on Sunday. After the first round of play, State is tied for third with host UCF shooting 277 (11-under par). The Bulldogs are five strokes back from Northwestern in second place and nine strokes back from the lead, currently held by second-ranked Wake Forest.

The Bulldogs were propelled by strong performances from top to bottom as everyone finished under par in the opening round. 11-under par is the third-lowest first round in program history and the eighth-lowest round overall.

Julia Lopez Ramirez captured her nineteenth round in the 60s in the Maroon and White to lead State through the opening round. Lopez Ramirez fell behind early in the round, before catching a spark on the front nine by sinking birdies on Holes 8-9. This spark would lead to a fire as Lopez Ramirez rolled birdies on the first three holes of the back nine and would finish with nine in the round. Lopez Ramirez is tied for third, shooting 6-under par. 66 is tied for the third-lowest first-round in program history and the eighth-lowest round overall.

 

Izzy Pellot continues to shine in her freshman season with MSU as she secured her first round in the 60s on Sunday. Pellot sunk five birdies throughout the round, including three on the back nine to finish tied for 12^th with 3-under par (69). Pellot has been very reliable as a freshman as she now has eight rounds of par or better out of 17 rounds played.

The senior duo of Abbey Daniel and Hannah Levi both played very efficient rounds within the opening eighteen holes of the spring season to both finish tied for 34^th with a 1-under par (71). Daniel rolled in four birdies in the round while Levi sunk three (all on the front nine).

Surapa Janthamunee, nicknamed SJ, finished 1-under par, tying for 34^th in her third career event for the Bulldogs. Throughout the round, SJ rolled in four birdies and was very efficient throughout the day in the fourth spot for State.

Mississippi State will be paired with Northwestern and second-ranked Wake Forest for Monday’s second round. The Golf Dawgs will tee off from the first hole at 10:00 am. All updates regarding tee times for the UCF Challenge can be found on Twitter and Instagram by searching “HailStateWG”.

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