Bulls Start Spring With Title Victory at Florida Challenge
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, JAN. 28, 2019 – Host USF women's golf started the spring season in title-winning fashion at the Florida Challenge on Monday.
The Bulls carded a 7-over 295 in difficult conditions and captured the program's first tournament team title since April 11, 2017 with a two-shot victory at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club (par 72, 6,240 yards). Freshman
Ramya Meenakshisundaram shot a career best 4-under 68 to earn a share of medalist honors with UCF's Elizabeth Moon.
Meenakshisundaram (Jacksonville, Fla.) shot par or better on 17 of 18 holes and made a run to the top of the leaderboard by collecting four birdies during her 4-under performance on the back nine. USF has had an individual medalist in consecutive tournaments after senior
Natalia Villavicencio (Santiago, Chile) finished the fall with a one-shot victory at the FIU Pat Bradley Invitational on Oct. 23.
Four Bulls finished in the top 25 and
Jacqueline Twitty joined Meenakshisundaram in the top 10. Twitty, a senior from Chapin, S.C., carded four birdies and tied for sixth place with a 1-over 73. Twitty has placed in the top 10 in back-to-back tournaments.
Sadie Dewinton-Davies (Newtown, Wales) finished a shot outside the top 10 with a 4-over 76 that tied the junior for 13
th place. Senior
Sophie Stone (Oxford, England) posted her first top-25 finish of the season by tying for 19
th place with a 6-over 78.
Only five players in the entire field shot under par on a cold day that included wet conditions. Prior to the first round, the tournament was shortened to 18 holes due to overnight rain that saturated the course.
USF Lineup Scores
Quotable
Head coach Erika Brennan on the Bulls' title victory:
"It was an incredible day out there. The girls were gutsy and wanted to get the job done – you could see the fight from start to finish. Coach Stevens and I vowed not to over coach and trusted them to execute their game plans. A win in college golf is so special. This team has done some soul searching and they have made huge strides. They earned this win, and I am proud of who and what this team is becoming in the process."
Brennan on freshman Ramya Meenakshisundaram earning co-medalist honors:
"Ramya was on a mission today. She had a quiet confidence this morning, which bodes well. To make those birdies down the stretch and come away with a hard fought co-medalist honor is a testament to how hard she works every moment to be the absolute best version of herself when it's tournament time. To win is huge, but to get her first as a freshman is just plain awesome."
Brennan on the strong support the Bulls received at the Florida Challenge:
"Thank you to all of the volunteers, Tampa Palms staff and members, the USF men's golf team, and so many from the USF Athletics department who came out to watch today. The girls could feel that positive energy and we are grateful you made the time to support our program!"
Assistant coach Dalton Stevens' thoughts on USF's title victory to start the spring:
"I'm extremely proud of the way the ladies competed today. Conditions were tough and for us to come out on top shows how hard the team has been working since we reunited at the break. A lot of positives that each of our players can take away from this event and work on in preparation for our next event. The team loved playing in front of our Bulls fans and I know they really fed off that. This is a great step forward for our program as we continue to build a program here that Tampa and the USF Bulls fans can be proud of."
Stevens on the fan support along with the Tampa Palms staff and tournament volunteers:
"For everyone to come out and take time out of their days to support our ladies and the program means a lot to us. We can't do it without them! A big thank you to all the Tampa Palms staff for getting the golf course ready in unideal circumstances and to all the volunteers who spotted and did live scoring."
Notable
- USF registered its first tournament team victory since a wire-to-wire win at the Hoya Invitational on April 11, 2017. Monday also marked the Bulls' first tournament victory under the guidance of head coach Erika Brennan and assistant coach Dalton Stevens.
- Co-medalist Ramya Meenakshisundaram topped the leaderboard for the first time as a Bull. The freshman has a share of the team lead with two top-10 performances this season and she's posted four top-25 finishes in five events.
- Senior Jacqueline Twitty has produced consecutive top-10 finishes after placing third at the FIU Pat Bradley Invitational to finish the fall season.
Up Next
USF will travel to Melbourne, Fla., to compete in the Moon Golf Invitational Feb. 18-19 at Duran Golf Club.
About USF Women's Golf
Nine-year veteran head coach Erika Brennan completed her first spring season with USF in 2018. Juniors Natalia Villavicencio and Maria "Nani" Merchan highlighted the 2017-18 season, combining to post four top-10 performances and 11 top-25 finishes, including eight in the spring. The 2018-19 roster includes three newcomers: transfers Jacqueline Twitty and Sadie Dewinton-Davies along with freshman Ramya Meenakshisundaram. The Bulls opened the 2018 fall season with a runner-up finish at the USA Intercollegiate and also placed second at the FIU Pat Bradley Invitational to wrap up their four-tournament run before the spring.
