September 11, 2024 • by Dan Davies
Premium DI women’s tournaments have been coming thick and fast in the opening weeks of the season. We round-up the storylines from the Folds of Honor Collegiate, the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, the Carmel Cup and home events hosted by Clemson and Purdue.
Giovana Maymon (pictured below, far right) got off to a dream start in her first job as a Head Coach, watching her Arizona team close with a best of the week total of 282 (-6) to win the Folds of Honor Collegiate at American Dunes GC. The Wildcats, who led after day one, finished three shots clear of overnight leaders Florida State. Ohio State was a further nine shots adrift in third.
Afterwards, Coach Maymon told the Golf Channel: ‘I just have fighters. They never give up. This is special. It’s the first one. But I’m so thankful to be at Arizona and these kids are special for me.’
Florida State’s Mirabel Ting (below) shot a closing four-under-par 68 to finish as individual medalist, ending two clear of he overnight leader, Wildcats senior Carolina Melgrati. Ting played her last 10 holes in six under par, including a run of five consecutive birdies from the 13th. It was the Malaysian junior’s third collegiate win.
Team Leaderboard | Individual Leaderboard
South Carolina defended its ANNIKA Intercollegiate title in style, running out comfortable winners after a dominant wire-to-wire victory at Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minneapolis.
The Gamecocks pulled clear in round two, giving themselves a 17-shot buffer over nearest challengers Wake Forest going into the final day. They went on to extended that lead, finishing a full 25 shots ahead of second placed Oregon.
South Carolina seniors Hannah Darling and Louise Rydqvist (below) were both named on the Fall 2024/25 Watch List for the ANNIKA Award and produced a pulsating final day duel for the individual title.
Darling, who starred in GB&I’s recent Curtis Cup win, began the day three clear of her teammate, but an eagle on the par-4 3rd hole followed by birdies on six and seven saw Rydqvist hit the front.
Darling, co-medalist at the 2024 Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, then hit back with an eagle of her own on the 9th before four birdies on the homeward nine, including the decisive gain on the final hole, saw the Scot finish at -13, one ahead of her teammate. Wake Forest's Carolina Chacarra was third on -10.
With three players at or near the top of the individual leaderboard (sophomore Maylis Laoure was T6), there was little anyone could do to stop Coach Kalen Anderson’s team lifting the trophy for the fourth time in 10 years.
Vanderbilt(below) won the prestigious Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach, which was hosted by Mississippi State. The Commodores came from behind to finish two ahead of Arkansas and six ahead of Mississippi State.
As the Vanderbilt Women’s Golf website reported, ‘the day came down to Vandy freshman Angelina Tolentino’, who clinched victory for her team with a birdie on the iconic 18th hole. Tolentino capped her debut weekend with a final round of 71 (-1) to tie for fourth individually.
Grace Kilcrease of Oklahoma State claimed the individual title, finishing on 7 under par, one ahead of Maria Jose Marin of Arkansas, who closed with a fine 67, and two ahead of Julia Lopez Ramirez of Mississippi State, who shot a best of the week six-under-par 66 in round one.
Purduesuccessfully defended home territory by winning the Boilermaker Classic, giving Head Coach Zack Byrd his fourth tournament victory in three years.
Byrd’s team bested nearest rivals Minnesota by 14 shots, with Natasha Kiel (above) finishing as individual medalist for the first time. Kiel shot closing round of 68 (4 under), which included an ace on the par-3 17th, where she holed her 8-iron from 137 yards.
Team Leaderboard | Individual Leaderboard
Georgia Southern finished the 2023/24 season at No.56 in the National Collegiate Golf Rankings but collected 10 votes in the first Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll of the new campaign. The Eagles showed why at the season-opening Tiger Classic, claiming a dominant 13-shot victory with a 17-under-par total. Campbell finished second with hosts Clemson in third.
Three Georgia Southern players finished in the top five. They were led by individual medalist Louise Reau (-7), who won her third collegiate title after firing eight birdies in a second round 65, a program record score. LoraLie Cowart was T3 and Mary Miller 5th, helping the Eagles to a program record 12-under in the final round.
‘Proud is an understatement,’ Head Coach Mimi Burke told the Georgia Southern website. ‘To have an individual champion and be the team champion at the Tiger Classic to start the 2024-2025 season is exceptional. It was a true team effort and is a dominant victory for our program.’