ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 7 Virginia women’s golf team opened the spring portion of its season Sunday at the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Fla. The Cavaliers shot 2-under 286 and are tied for ninth place in the 18-team field. Kentucky grabbed the early lead by shooting 12-under 276. Virginia won the tournament last season.
UVA’s team scoring was led by a pair of 1-under 71s by sophomore Jennifer Cleary and senior Riley Smyth. They finished the round tied for 25th place. Freshman Amanda Sambach and junior Celeste Valinho both shot even par 72 and are tied for 38th on the leaderboard. Graduate student Beth Lillie posted a round of 76 and is in 84th position.
Sophomore Rebecca Skoler, competing as an individual competitor, turned in Virginia’ best opening round score. She tied her collegiate low single-round score by shooting 3-under 69 and is tied for ninth place. Kentucky’s Jensen Castle leads the field at 6-under 66.
Monday’s second round gets underway with a shotgun start at 8:45 a.m. Live scoring of the tournament is online at Golfstat.com.
UCF Challenge
Eagle Creek Golf Club
Orlando, Fla.
Par 72, 6,349 yards
First Round Results
Team Results
1. Kentucky 276
2. Wake Forest 277
3. Miami 279
3. Auburn 279
5. Old Dominion 282
5. NC State 282
7. Michigan State 284
8. Houston 285
9. Virginia 286
9. Iowa State 286
11. UCF 287
12. Col. of Charleston 288
13. Maryland 291
13. Ohio State 291
13. Minnesota 291
16. Kent State 292
17. UNC Wilmington 296
17. Penn State 296
Individual Leaders
1. Jensen Castle, Kentucky 66
2. Tunrada Piddon, UCF 67
2. Taglao Jeeravivitaporn, Iowa State 67
2. Rachael Kuehn, Wake Forest 67
2. Anna Foster, Auburn 67
Virginia First-Round Scores
25. Jennifer Cleary 71
25. Riley Smyth 71
38. Amanda Sambach 72
38. Celeste Valinho 72
84. Beth Lillie 76
9. Rebecca Skoler* 69
* Competing as an individual