For the third consecutive year, Mississippi State is heading to the national championship tournament.
The Bulldogs backed up their first-ever Southeastern Conference title with a fourth-place finish at the Bermuda Run (N.C.) regional, good enough to advance to the NCAA Championships. Charlie Ewing has now guided MSU to the biggest stage in women’s college golf in each of his three full seasons as head coach.
At three strokes under par over the three-round regional, MSU finished well behind Ole Miss (-21), Texas (-20) and Wake Forest (-18) but survived a somewhat shaky final round and held off Oregon State — which also advanced as the fifth-place team — and Tennessee.
Junior Julia Lopez Ramirez, the No. 3 ranked amateur in the world, finished third individually at -8. She was under par in all three rounds but saved her best round for last, shooting four under par on Wednesday and finishing four strokes back of the co-leaders, Ole Miss’ Caitlyn Macnab and Wake Forest’s Rachel Kuehn.
Lopez Ramirez was also named to the watch list for the ANNIKA Award, presented to the top Division I women’s golfer, on Friday. She is the first Bulldog to be named to the watch list in three straight seasons. The winner will be announced on May 21 and will receive entry into the Amundi Evian Championship in July in Évian-les-Bains, France.
Sophomore Surapa Janthamunee finished tied for 10th at -5 after being in contention for the lead following the first two rounds. She shot a 69 (three under par) on Monday and Tuesday, completing her rounds on each of those days without a bogey.
The Bulldogs’ other competitors were freshman Avery Weed (31st, +4), junior Chiara Horder (41st, +9) and sophomore Izzy Pellot (T-51st, +14). With just one senior on the roster and none in the championship lineup, MSU should be well-positioned for continued success in the coming years.
For now, though, the Bulldogs will head to the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. — just north of San Diego — for the NCAA Championships from May 17-22. MSU is one of seven SEC teams heading to the event, along with Auburn, South Carolina, Ole Miss, LSU, Vanderbilt and Arkansas.
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