Charlottesville, VA – The No. 8 Virginia women’s golf team returns to action this weekend at the Clemson Invitational. The 54-hole event is set for The Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset, S.C. Originally slated as a Friday through Sunday tournament, the teams will attempt to play 27 holes on Friday due to a forecast of inclement weather on Sunday. The first round is scheduled to being at 10 a.m. with a shotgun start.
The 18-team field includes (Golfstat ranking): Clemson, Notre Dame, Illinois, Furman, Augusta, Indiana, No. 25 Kent State, Kansas, No. 22 Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Old Dominion, Louisville, Purdue, UNC Wilmington, Virginia, No. 19 Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.
The UVA lineup will feature senior Beth Lillie (Fullerton, Calif.), junior Riley Smyth (Cary, N.C.), sophomores Virginia Bossi (Como, Italy) and Celeste Valinho (Jacksonville, Fla.) and freshman Jennifer Cleary (Wilmington, Del.). They have been the Cavaliers’ lineup for all five tournaments this season.
Smyth currently leads UVA with a 72.39 stroke average and is ranked No. 31 in the latest Golfstat standings. Lillie is No. 47 in the standings and has a 72.54 stroke average.
Smyth led UVA in its last out, finishing ninth at the Valspar Augusta Invitational at 6-under 210. That matched her low collegiate tournament net score and was the seventh top-10 finish during her career.
Live scoring is online at Golfstat.com.