Women's Golf in Sixth at Mary Fossum

EAST LANSING, Mich.  – The Miami Hurricanes women’s golf team is in sixth place – just seven strokes out of third – through 36 holes Saturday at the Mary Fossum Invitational.

Miami carded a first-round 305 and followed it up with a second-round 302 to finish day one at 31-over 607. Host Michigan State owns an eight-stroke lead at 8-over 584, while Ohio State is in second at 16-over 592. Notre Dame (24-over 600), Oregon (26-over 602) and Northwestern (29-over 605) rounds out the top five.

Michigan State’s Liz Nagel is the lone golfer under par through 36 holes at 1-under 143. Nagel holds a one-stroke lead on the 93-golfer field. Miami’s Leticia Ras-Anderica trails Nagel by three strokes and is tied for fourth overall at 2-over 146.

“The fast greens were a challenge for us,” head coach Patti Rizzo said. “Everyone except Leti struggled with their putting. The course also played very long.”

Ras-Anderica recorded six birdies on Saturday. During the morning session, she shot 2-under over the final 10 holes to finish her first round 2-over par. She was 2-under through her first 14 holes of the second round before bogeying back-to-back par 4s on No. 5 and No. 6.

Two Miami Hurricanes made their collegiate debut Saturday, while a third made her UM debut.

Freshman Delfina Acosta and junior Rika Park are tied for 27th at 9-over 153. Acosta posted rounds of 76 and 77 in her first two collegiate rounds, while Park carded scores of 77 and 76.

Sophomore Kailey Walsh and freshman Daniela Darquea are tied for 46th at 11-over 155 after the pair carded matching rounds of 78 and 77.

“The girls felt this was about the worst they could play, which is promising since it wasn’t that bad and we are only seven shots out of third place,” Rizzo said. “A top-three finish here would be a very good start to the season.”

The final round of the Mary Fossum Invitational will tee off Sunday with an 8:30 a.m. ET shotgun start. Live scoring will be available at www.golfstatresults.com. For the latest information, follow the Miami Hurricanes women’s golf team on Twitter, @HurricanesGolf.