Scott Inks First Signing Class at UVA
Charlottesville, Va. – First-year Virginia women’s golf coach Ria Scott announced today the signing of a two-person recruiting class of top junior golfers who will join the Cavalier program next fall. The class includes Virginia Bossi from Como, Italy and Celeste Valinho of Jacksonville, Fla.
“Both Celeste Valinho and Virginia Bossi have the skill level and experience to make an impact on our squad,” Scott said. “They are both exceptional students and tremendous athletes and are no strangers to team golf. Their competitiveness, drive to improve and willingness to be challenged are some of the main factors that showed us they are perfect for the University of Virginia.”
Bossi is currently ranked No. 196 in World Amateur Golf Rankings, which ranks 12th among Italian players, and is 3rd among current UVA Women. She ranks No. 80 in the European Golf Association rankings. Last year she helped Italy to victory at the 2018 European Girls’ Team Championship and was the runner-up at Italian Girls U18 National Championship (71-74), the Italian Match Play Championships and was also second at 2018 Coppa d’Oro Citta di Roma.
She finished fifth at 2018 Italian Girls U18 International Championship (70-72-20-72), placed eighth at the Italian International Ladies Amateur, was 10th at Annika Invitational Europe and 33rd at Girls British Open Amateur Championship.
Valinho won her division of the 2018 PGA National Junior Open at PGA National Golf Club. She was the semifinalist at 2018 Florida State Golf Association’s Junior Amateur Match Play championship. Last year, she had six top-10 finishes on the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, including wins at the North Florida Junior Open (72-73), PGA National Junior Shootout (71-70) a win at the HJGT Summer World Championships (67-71-71).
She helped her Providence School team to runner-up finish at Florida high school 1A golf championships last fall and finished in the top-10 of individual play for the second consecutive season. Valinho was named all-First Coast after posting the lowest score in regional competition among Jacksonville-area players for any division. She also competed in the USGA’s 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball championship.