Monday, March 5
Biltmore Golf Course, Coral Gables, Fla.
University of South Florida
at
Hurricane Invitational
Villavicencio, Merchan Lead Bulls to Top-10 Finish at Hurricane Invitational
March 07, 2018 | Women's Golf
TEAM SCORES
PLAYER SCORES
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
CORAL GABLES, Fla., MARCH 7, 2018 – Natalia Villavicencio and Maria "Nani" Merchan turned in top-25 performances while USF women's golf posted a top-10 finish at the Hurricane Invitational on Wednesday.
Villavicencio matched USF's second-best score of the final round with a 76 and tied for 19th among 75 players at Biltmore Golf Course (par 72, 6,150 yards). The junior from Santiago, Chile carded one of USF's tournament-leading two eagles in the opening round and shot par or better on 40 of 54 holes in her first top-25 finish of the spring.
Merchan also boosted the Bulls to a 10th-place finish by tying for 24th place at 9-over, just one stroke behind Villavicencio. Merchan, a junior from Caracas, Venezuela, has finished in the top 25 in each of USF's first three events this spring.
Freshman Haley Danford (Longwood, Fla.) helped the Bulls move up one spot on the leaderboard in the final round with a team-leading score of 75. Senior Diana Gonzalez Pinto (Bogota, Colombia) finished strong by shooting a 76 for the second straight day.
USF Scores
Notable
USF continues its busy week Saturday and Sunday at the SunTrust Gator Women's Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.
About USF Women's Golf
USF heads into the spring season with a new head coach. Erika Brennan comes to USF after two seasons of leading the Southern Mississippi women's golf program. Brennan brings seven seasons of head coaching experience to the Bulls' program, having also served five seasons as women's golf head coach at nearby Saint Leo University, and nine years of collegiate coaching experience overall.
For the latest information on USF women's golf, follow the team on Twitter @USFWGolf and Facebook.
PLAYER SCORES
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
CORAL GABLES, Fla., MARCH 7, 2018 – Natalia Villavicencio and Maria "Nani" Merchan turned in top-25 performances while USF women's golf posted a top-10 finish at the Hurricane Invitational on Wednesday.
Villavicencio matched USF's second-best score of the final round with a 76 and tied for 19th among 75 players at Biltmore Golf Course (par 72, 6,150 yards). The junior from Santiago, Chile carded one of USF's tournament-leading two eagles in the opening round and shot par or better on 40 of 54 holes in her first top-25 finish of the spring.
Merchan also boosted the Bulls to a 10th-place finish by tying for 24th place at 9-over, just one stroke behind Villavicencio. Merchan, a junior from Caracas, Venezuela, has finished in the top 25 in each of USF's first three events this spring.
Freshman Haley Danford (Longwood, Fla.) helped the Bulls move up one spot on the leaderboard in the final round with a team-leading score of 75. Senior Diana Gonzalez Pinto (Bogota, Colombia) finished strong by shooting a 76 for the second straight day.
USF Scores
| 10 | South Florida | 305 | 304 | 306 | 915 |
| T19 | Natalia Villavicencio (1) | 73 | 75 | 76 | 224 |
| T24 | Nani Merchan (2) | 74 | 72 | 79 | 225 |
| T52 | Haley Danford (5) | 77 | 81 | 75 | 233 |
| T62 | Diana Gonzalez (4) | 85 | 76 | 76 | 237 |
| 71 | Mariale Merchan (3) | 81 | 82 | 81 | 244 |
Notable
- Mariale Merchan (Caracas, Venezuela) gave USF the eagle lead (2) in the tournament with her solid work in the final round on the par-5, 501-yard first hole.
- USF was solid in par-5 scoring as a team and ranked fifth in the field in the category (4.95, -3).
USF continues its busy week Saturday and Sunday at the SunTrust Gator Women's Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.
About USF Women's Golf
USF heads into the spring season with a new head coach. Erika Brennan comes to USF after two seasons of leading the Southern Mississippi women's golf program. Brennan brings seven seasons of head coaching experience to the Bulls' program, having also served five seasons as women's golf head coach at nearby Saint Leo University, and nine years of collegiate coaching experience overall.
For the latest information on USF women's golf, follow the team on Twitter @USFWGolf and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Golf
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