Women's Golf Opens Season at Cougar Classic

HANAHAN, S.C. – The Miami Hurricanes women’s golf team opens the 2012-13 season Sept. 9-11 at the 10th annual Cougar Classic, hosted by the College of the Charleston.

The par-72, 6,219-yard course at Yeamans Hall Club will host the three-day tournament. Sunday’s first round and Monday’s second round will have two waves of tee times, beginning at 7:50 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. Tuesday’s final round will feature a 9 a.m. shotgun start.

In all 24 teams will converge on Hanahan, S.C., including the 2012 NCAA national champion Alabama Crimson Tide, who begin the season ranked No. 1 overall. Miami will also face seven other teams ranked in the top 10 of Golfweek‘s preseason poll – No. 3 Duke, No. 4 USC, No. 6 Auburn, No. 8 Vanderbilt, No. 9 Tennessee and No. 10 North Carolina

Last season at the Cougar Classic, the Hurricanes finished 12th overall out of 22 teams. Leticia Ras-Anderica and Jennifer Hirano tied for 48th at the 2011 Cougar Classic.

“We have a lot of new talent on the team this year,” third-year head coach Patti Rizzo said. “There’s a great opportunity for us to play amongst the top schools. If we can stay level, we’ll be able to climb up the rankings.”

Junior Carina Cuculiza and sophomores Rika Park and Ras-Anderica return from a squad that finished eighth at the 2012 Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Golf Championship. Park and Ras-Anderica both advanced to the 2012 NCAA Central Regional as individuals. Joining the returning trio are three talented freshmen – Laura Hendee, Christina Ocampo and Lauren Riehle.

“We have a good group of athletes,” Rizzo said. “We’re on our way to turning this program around.”

Live scoring for all three rounds will be provided by Golfstat and available on www.HurricaneSports.com.

Follow the official Twitter feed for Miami Hurricanes women’s golf, @HurricanesGolf.