CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The No. 26-ranked University of Miami women’s golf team opens play at the 27th Annual ACC Championship Friday morning beginning at 9:10 a.m. in Greensboro, N.C. The two-day event will be held at the par 72, 6,089-yard Sedgefield Country Club.
THE BASICS
-ACC: Tournament Host
-54 Holes
-Friday, April 16 | 9:10 a.m. ET (27 holes)
-Saturday, April 17 | TBA (27 holes)
-Play 5, count 4
GOLFSTAT.com TOP 50 RANKINGS
No. 5 Duke, No. 11 Virginia, No. 12 Wake Forest, No. 26 Miami, No. 31 Florida State, No. 32 Notre Dame, No. 40 Louisville, No. 42 NC State.
COMPETING TEAMS
Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Virginia and Wake Forest
ABOUT THE ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
The Tournament is making its seventh-straight appearance at Sedgefield, which also hosts Greensboro’s PGA Tournament’s Wyndham Open, and was the actual site of the formation of the ACC in 1953.
Miami will be in search of its first ACC Championship crown.
THE LINEUP
Daniela Darquea
-Claimed the Briar’s Creek Invitational on March 24 after she shot a final round of 65.
-Owns a team-best 73.04 scoring average through 25 rounds this season.
-Is second on the team with 68 birdies.
-Has finished in the Top 15 six times this season. Tied for 13th at the Web.com Intercollegiate on March 31.
-Tied for fifth at the Florida Challenge to open the spring portion of the 2014-15 slate.
Leticia Ras-Anderica
-Has posted a scoring average of 74.04 in 25 rounds this year.
-Her scoring average ranks third on the team.
-Has tallied 39 birdies during the 2014-15 campaign.
-Tied for seventh in her last appearance at the SMU Invitational.
-Tied for fifth at the Florida Challenge to open the spring portion of the 2014-15 slate.
Rika Park
-Holds the team’s second-best scoring average (73.88).
-Tied for seventh in her last appearance at the SMU Invitational.
-Posted a three-round total of 218 at the Web.com Intercollegiate and tied for 16th on March 31.
-Fired a second round score of 69 at the Hurricane Invitational en route to a top 15 finish (T13) on March 4.
-Missed the 2014 fall campaign due to injury.
Delfina Acosta
-Won the Web.com Intercollegiate, posting a three-round total of 206.
-Posted back-to-back rounds under 70 to open play at the Web.com Intercollegiate.
-Ranks second on the team in birdies with 73.
-Owns a 74.36 average through 24 rounds this season.
-Tied for 13th at the 2015 Florida Challenge to open the spring campaign.
Kailey Walsh
-Owns a 74.59 scoring average in 22 rounds this season.
-Has tallied 56 birdies on the year.
-Posted her second Top 10 finish of the year at the Hurricane Invitational as she tied for second.
-Shot a team-best 72 in the final round to close out the UCF Challenge.
-Tied for sixth at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational to close out the fall campaign
RECAPPING THE 2014 ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
Then 61st-ranked Daniela Darquea tied for 13th to lead the Miami Hurricanes to a fifth-place finish at the 2014 ACC Women’s Golf Championship.
Miami, which ranked No. 28 by Golfstat, tied with Notre Dame for fifth at 53-over 905. No. 3 Duke took home its third consecutive ACC title, winning by a 27-stroke margin. Duke’s Celine Boutier and Laetitia Beck finished 1-2 on the individual leadership. Boutier shot a final-round 70 to finish at 3-over 210, five strokes ahead of Beck (2-over 215).
LAST TIME OUT
The University of Miami women’s golf team tied for fifth at the 2015 SMU Invitational. The No. 27-ranked Hurricanes tallied a three-round total score of 900.
The two-day event was held at the par 72, 6,301-yard Dallas Athletic Club.
Seniors Rika Park (Fujieda Shi-Shizouka, Japan) and Leticia Ras-Anderica (Moraira, Spain) led the Hurricanes as they finished the tournament tied for seventh with scores of six-over-par (222). Park had a strong final round, as she shot two-under-par (70) and was one of six golfers to shoot under par in the third round. Ras-Anderica shot even par in her second and third rounds.
CHIRP CHIRP
Three of Miami’s top five golfers have combined for 197 birdies this season. Sophomore Delfina Acosta has a team-best 73 birdies.
AMONG THE BEST
Miami’s top five finish at the SMU Invitational marked the seventh time this season UM has placed in the top five. Miami’s other top five finishes came at the East/West Match Play (5th/Sept. 22), the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational (5th/Oct. 14), the Florida Challenge (1st/Jan.26), the Hurricane Invitational (2nd/March 4), Briar’s Creek Invitational (2nd/March 24) and the Web.com Intercollegiate (1st/March 31).
HEAD COACH PATTI RIZZO
On the ACC Championships
“I think in all my years of coaching, I’m most excited about going to ACC’s this year because I really think I have a team that can contend. I think if everybody is on top of their game, we could win ACC’s, which would be a dream come true.”
On the tournament field
“The ACC is such a strong conference and we have to really step it up. A lot of the schools we are competing against are ranked really high, so we have some tough competition.”
On the course
“I think this year the course will allow for a lot of low scores and it’s going to make the players look good.”
On the team’s consistency this season
“Having five girls that can play is what has made the difference. This is the first year since I’ve been here that we have had five very solid players.”