2019-20 Women's Golf Season In Review

Tuesday, April 28

Indianapolis, IN

Youngstown State University

Cancelled

Horizon League Championships

4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf

The Youngstown State women's golf team defended its tournament title at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational and had two players earn medalist honors during a shortened 2019-20 season.

The Penguins had a number of individual and group achievements while competing in seven events across four different states from early September to early March. YSU played events in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Highlights from the season are detailed below.

Penguins Defend Title at Roseann Schwartz Invitational

YSU began the 2019-20 season with a dominant 36-stroke victory at the sixth annual Roseann Schwartz Invitational at Mill Creek Golf Course in Boardman, Ohio.
The Penguins won the event for the second straight season and for the third time overall. YSU has now won at least one event in six straight seasons under Head Coach Nate Miklos.
YSU finished with a two-round team total of 583, which ranks as the third-lowest 36-hole score in program history.
The Guins carded a one-under-par 287 in the first round to build a commanding 17-stroke lead and fired a 296 in the final session to pull away comfortably.
YSU's first-round 287 ranks as the third-lowest 18-hole mark in school history while its second-round 296 is tied for the 10th lowest. The team's 287 (-1) also ranks as the third-lowest round in relation to par in program history while the 296 (+8) is tied for the seventh lowest.
The Penguins' one-under-par 287 was just the fourth team round of par or better in school history; the first three were all recorded during the 2018-19 campaign.
Four Penguins finished in the top five of the individual standings while five placed in the top 10.

Grans and Khuanrudee Share Medalist Honors

Sophomores Victoria Grans and Puthita Khuanrudee each carded a two-round score of 144 to share medalist honors and lead YSU to victory at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational.
Grans and Khuanrudee entered the final round of the event three and four strokes off the lead, respectively. Their performances are tied for the sixth-lowest individual 36-hole scores in school history.
Grans earned medalist honors for the second time in her career by firing two rounds of even-par 72. She became the 14th player in program history to win at least two events in their career.
Khuanrudee claimed medalist honors for the first time after carding rounds of 73 and 71. The sophomore's one-under-par 71 in the second round and her two-round total of 144 each matched a career low.

Second-Place Finish at Bucknell Invitational

Following their season-opening victory at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational, the Penguins earned a second-place finish in the Bucknell Invitational at Bucknell Golf Club in Lewisburg, Pa.
Three Penguins finished in the top 10 of the individual standings as YSU finished three strokes behind the winner Navy with a three-round total of 898. The Penguins' performance ranks as the second-lowest 54-hole team score in program history, and it is just the second mark of below 900.
Youngstown State recorded rounds of 305 and 293 in the first two rounds before posting a 300 in the final session. The Penguins' second-round 293 was the lowest single-round team mark of the event, and it ranks tied for the eighth-lowest 18-hole score in school history.
Before the 2018-19 season, YSU had recorded just four team rounds of below 300 in program history. Over the past two seasons, the Penguins have carded 12 such rounds.

Khuanrudee Continues to Impress

Reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Year and first-team all-league performer Puthita Khuanrudee continued her impressive play as a sophomore in 2019-20.
Khuanrudee averaged a team-best 75.3 strokes per round and was YSU's top finisher in six of seven events. She won two events and earned a total of four top-five finishes. She finished outside of the top 20 in only one of seven tournaments.
In addition to sharing medalist honors at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational, Khuanrudee also won medalist honors at the Benbow Invitational on March 10. She carded a two-round total of 146 (76-70) to win the individual title by one stroke.
The sophomore's one-under-par 70 in the final session marked the lowest round of her career. Her final-round performance is also tied for the eighth-lowest 18-hole score in program history.
With her third sub-par round of the campaign, Khuanrudee became one of six players in program history to record at least three rounds of par or better in a season. She also became one of nine players in YSU history to record a round of 70 or below.
With her second victory of the season, Khuanrudee became one of 10 golfers in program history to earn medalist honors multiple times in a season.
Khuanrudee's 75.3 scoring average ranks as the second-lowest single-season mark in school history. She now owns two of the four lowest single-season scoring averages in program history; her 75.5 average as a freshman in 2018-19 is tied for the third-lowest mark.
Khuanrudee finished fourth and matched her career-best 54-hole score at the Bucknell Invitational with a three-round 221 (73-72-76). That performance is tied for the fourth-lowest 54-hole score in program history.
Khuanrudee tied for fifth at the Dayton Fall Invitational with a two-round 150 (71-79), and she tied for 14th at the Nittany Lion Invitational with a three-round mark of 222 (77-71-74). Her 222 is tied for the seventh-lowest 54-hole mark in school history.

Lewis and Rugola Make Immediate Impact

True freshmen Christina Lewis and Danae Rugola played major roles for the Penguins during their first season as each participated in all seven tournaments and 18 rounds.
Lewis ranked second on the team with a 78.0 strokes-per-round average, carded a low round of 72 and earned a pair of top-10 finishes.
Lewis placed third in her collegiate debut at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational with a two-round score of 147 (73-74). She followed that by earning a ninth-place finish at the Bucknell Invitational with a three-round 224 (79-73-72). That performance ranks tied for the 10th-lowest 54-hole score in program history.
Lewis tied for 18th at the Dayton Fall Invitational with a two-round 154 (76-78), and she was YSU's top finisher at the Kiawah Island Classic with a three-round 227 (76-76-75).
Rugola ranked third on the team with a 78.1 scoring average, and she also earned a pair of top-10 finishes. She placed fourth in her collegiate debut at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational with a two-round score of 148 (69-79).
In her first collegiate round, Rugola shot the lowest round ever recorded by a YSU freshman with a three-under-par 69. The performance is tied for the fifth-lowest round in program history, and it is also tied for the fourth-lowest round in relation to par.
Rugola's 69 was the lowest round recorded by a Penguin in 2019-20. She became one of only four players in school history to notch a round of below 70.
Rugola tied for seventh at the Bucknell Invitational with a three-round 223 (74-77-72), which ranks as the ninth-lowest 54-hole score in program history. She also tied for 16th at the Benbow Invitational with a two-round mark of 156 (81-75).

Relying on Young Players

With seven of the 10 golfers on Youngstown State's roster being underclassmen, the Penguins had to rely heavily on young players in 2019-20.
YSU had at least four underclassmen as part of its five-player team lineup in all seven events. Khuanrudee (So.), Lewis (Fr.) and Rugola (Fr.) each participated in all seven tournaments and 18 rounds while Grans (So.) competed in six events and 15 rounds.
In addition, Jenna Vivo (So.) played in five tournaments and 13 rounds while Britney Jonda (So.) and Ally St. Clair (Fr.) each competed in two events and four rounds.

Upperclassmen Provide Leadership, Experience

While YSU was heavily reliant on young players, the Penguins did have a pair of veterans provide leadership and experience to the group.
Junior Tori Utrup participated in five tournaments and 12 rounds while junior Kara Raines competed in four events and 10 rounds.
Utrup tied for 14th and matched her career-best two-round score with a 160 (81-79) at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational. She then tied for 25th with a career-best three-round score of 232 (78-81-73) at the Bucknell Invitational. Her third-round 73 at the event also marked a new career low.
Raines' best finish came when she tied for 23rd at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational with a two-round 164 (79-85). Her first-round 79 at the event was her low round of campaign.

More Statistical/Historical Notes

YSU's single-round team scoring average of 309.11 ranks as the second-lowest mark in program history. The Penguins set the single-season school record with an average of 302.92 in 2018-19.
YSU's three-round team total of 925 at the Kiawah Island Classic is tied for the fifth-lowest 54-hole score in program history.
2019-20 marked the seventh straight season in which at least two Penguins claimed tournament medalist honors. At least one YSU women's golfer has earned medalist honors in 13 consecutive seasons.
Grans and Khuanrudee are each tied for fourth in YSU history with four career rounds of par or better. They are two of five players in school history to shoot at least four such rounds.
Grans joined Emily Dixon and Aislynn Merling as the only players in program history to record at least two rounds of par or better in two different seasons. The sophomore notched two such rounds in 2018-19 before carding two more this past fall.