Spartans in Third Through Two Rounds at Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invite

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Through two rounds at the opening day of the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invite Monday, Oct. 9, the Spartans sit in third place (+2) with four golfers individually inside the top-20 and three tied for 14th. 

With the third and final round set to take place Tuesday, competing separate from the team senior Valentina Rossi also leads all other individuals, even with par and in 13th overall. Rossi shot a season-best 69 on the par-72 course in the second round Monday afternoon. 

All tied for 14th at one over par are senior Leila Raines, junior Brooke Biermann and sophomore Paula Balanzategui. Raines led MSU in the morning round with a 70 while Biermann tallied a season-best 69 stroke performance in the afternoon round. Junior Katie Lu is tied for 19th at two over, while junior Shannon Kennedy rounds out the State lineup tied for 31st at four over. 

With 18 holes to play, the Spartans are three strokes behind Golfweek’s national No. 19 Auburn (-1) while No. 23 Florida has a commanding lead at 14 shots under par. The Gators are led by individual leader Maisie Filler whose 64-shot (-8) first round is yet to be matched. MSU stands ahead of No. 38 North Carolina (+5) and No. 25 Florida State (+8) among others in the field of 14 teams competing in the tournament. 

The Spartans hope to continue their positive trend going into the final day after moving up two spots from fifth to third with a collective ten-shot difference between the first and second rounds to start the event.