Miami Enters Final Round Eying a Pair of Trophies
ORLANDO, Fla. – For the second straight day, senior Renate Grimstad led the charge for the University of Miami golf team, which surged up the team leaderboard at the UCF Challenge.
Competing at the Par 72, 6,349-yard Eagle Creek Golf Club, the Hurricanes carded an eight-under 280 performance on Monday to move into first place with a two-day total of nine-under 567. The Hurricanes will enter the final 18 holes holding a one stroke lead over third-ranked Kent State and No. 13 Michigan State.
“The team is so talented and it’s all falling into place like [John Koskinen and I] imagined,” head coach Patti Rizzo said. “I just hope they keep it up and continue to play well. We have a great team camaraderie this year which is enjoyable and motivating.”
A day removed from carding seven birdies and sitting in a tie for first at 6-under-par, Grimstad once again put together a strong performance in the middle round. Adding five more birdies to her resume, the senior enters the final 18 maintaining a five-stroke lead on the entire field at 11-under 133, to go along with a tournament-high 12 birdies.
“Renni is in a groove and playing awesome,” Rizzo said.
Overall, the Bergen, Norway, native’s performance through the opening 36 holes ranks second in program history, just trailing Dewi Weber’s 15-under, 129 to open the Betsy Rawls Invitational during the fall of 2016.
Sitting in a tie for 23rd at even-par, junior Kristyna Frydlova rebounded from a slow start to card a trio of birdies on the final 10 holes to finish two-under, 70 on the day.
Following closely behind, freshman Franziska Sliper is tied for 25th at one-over-par, after collecting two birdies and finishing even par on Monday. Meanwhile, sophomore Anna Backman is tied for 35th at two-over-par, after finishing the second day of competition with four birdies at one-under, 71.
Rounding out the Hurricanes lineup, freshman Morgan Pankow tallied four birdies over a five-hole stretch to move into a tie for 58th at seven-over, 151, while freshman Daniella Barrett is tied for 63rd at 152 and senior Macarena Aguilera tied for 68th at 153.
The final round of competition is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning at 8:45 a.m. ET, with live results available HERE. Miami is set to tee off with the Spartans and Golden Flashes for the final 18.
To keep up with the University of Miami golf team on social media, follow @HurricanesGolf on Twitter, @CanesGolf on Instagram and @CanesWGolf on Facebook.
