LAKEWOOD RANCH, FLA. (Oct. 22, 2016) -- The FIU Panthers women's golf program will be in action starting Sunday, as they host the 39
th Pat Bradley Invitational, in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, at the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club. The event is a 54-hole event over three days, on the par-72 course, set up for 6,288 yards for the event.
The field includes 14 teams in 2016, with FIU joined by Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, FGCU, Georgia State, Jacksonville, UMKC, Marshall, Memphis, Morehead State, Southern Miss, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Toledo and WKU. The University of Florida is sending individuals but will not compete as a team in the event.
The Invitational, named for golfing legend and FIU's first All-American, is one of the longest-running collegiate golf events. Starting in 1977 at Hollywood Lakes Inn and Country Club, the event has been contested at 12 different venues before moving to Lakewood Ranch in 2012. The Invitational was not contested in 1992 due to the devastation of Hurricane Andrew in South Florida.
FIU leads all teams in the history of the tournament with eight wins, including most recently in 2011 and 2012. Toledo is the defending team champion. Memphis senior Leighann Cabush was the individual champion last season. FIU senior
Coralia Arias (Quito, Ecuador) is the only other player in the field who has won the medalist honors, beating the field in her freshman season of 2013. She was the last of three-straight FIU medalists from 2011-13, the second time in the tournament's history the same school has sported the medalist won by different individuals in consecutive seasons. FIU did it first in 1993 (Moira Dunn) and 1994 (Trisha Grier). FIU's Michelle Simpson is the only four-time winner of the event, from 1997-2000.
"This tournament is one of most important events of the year," said FIU Head Coach Joe Vogel. "We see it as an event that we want to win not only for FIU but for Pat Bradley. When you have an Alum as special as Pat you can't help but want to play a little harder. Pat has been a major supporter to our program and many other organizations and people over the last 40 years. She is truly an inspiration to many and we are grateful for all she does."
The Panthers have finished third twice and fourth in their last outing this season, posting a record of 29-7 through three events in three different states.
Individually, senior
Camila Serrano (Bogota, Columbia) has posted five of her nine season rounds at or under par, with her 72.2 stroke average leading the way for FIU. She has finished second in two of her tournaments this season, posting a record of 203-13. Junior
Katerina Krasova (Ricany, Czech Republic) is second on the team with a 74.8 stroke average, and a 153-55 overall mark. Freshman
Carolina Rotzinger (Puebla, Mexico) sits third for FIU so far, at 75.9 and 131-80 through six rounds in her first collegiate season.
The first two rounds will begin at 8:15 a.m. with a shotgun start in the final round Tuesday, at 8:30 a.m. Live stats and pairings can be found at
BirdieFire.com following Saturday's practice round. Round-by-round updates will be posted at FIUSports.com daily through the weekend. For more on the 39
th Pat Bradley Invitational, visit our
Tournament Program.
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of Conference USA. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and the FIU Football Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
