LINCOLN, Nebraska (Sept. 27, 2016) -- FIU women's golf posted two top-10 individual finishers, senior Camila Serrano (Bogota, Columbia) in second and junior Katerina Krasova (Ricany, Czech Republic) eighth, and finished third as a team following a final round 8-over par to end at 29-over for the week (302-295-296  893) at the Chip-N-Club Invitational, hosted by the University of Nebraska. FIU played just one stroke back of their second-round score from Monday and posted the fourth-best round of the 11-team field on Tuesday to complete the tournament at the 6,276-yard, par-72 Wilderness Ridge Golf Course in the capital city of Lincoln.
 
Serrano played even par through 15 holes and birdied her last three for a three-under 69 Tuesday, the fourth-best round against par of her collegiate career, now entering her fourth year. She finished in second-place as an individual (72-74-69  215), and her best finish since winning the Amelia Island Collegiate back in February of 2014. She was one of three players to shoot below 70 in the final round. She finished two strokes back of the medalist, Hallie Getz of South Dakota State. She and Gets were the only two players to post final scores below par overall and the only two to go under par on the par-4 holes in total for the tournament.
 
"Camilla had a great tournament," said FIU Head Coach Joe Vogel. "She was very steady, as I expected she would be. Once we got through that first round after only getting in six holes in the practice round, we settled down and played better. Kate really came through today and had a pretty steady tournament. Carolina also played steady, just came into some bad luck on Tuesday. She's a steady player and good start to her career. We can be good out there and will need everyone to play for us to score well and get into some top-three finishes."
 
"After struggling to get going on the front nine, I was saving pars on the back to start and missing some close birdie putts," said Serrano. "I realized I had to finish strong and try to fight back as Getz was making everything. I had some very good shots on the last four holes, leaving me good chances for birdie on all of them. The putt on 15 lipped out, I made the two-yard putt on 16, a putt of about 8 yards on 17 and on 18 I left it a yard away for birdie and made it."
 
Krasova was even-par for her final round, and carded the first eagle for FIU this season. After three bogeys and one birdie through 16 holes, she stood over her second shot on the 376-yard, par-4 17^th hole, with 109 yards to go and a slight uphill pin placement, a 9-iron in her hand. She was one of four players to shoot par on Tuesday and tied for eighth at 5-over (76-73-72  221).
 
"The wind was not blowing at the moment I hit it," said Krasova. "I realized that it went in when people behind the green started clapping. I knew it was a really good shot, but I did not expect it to go in."
 
She produced an eagle on a par-4 back home this summer and recorded a hole-in-one five years ago with a 6-iron, but that was her first eagle on American soil and in a U.S. competition.
 
"I was standing right behind the green and watched it go in," said Vogel. "It picked up her round."
 
FIU freshman Carolina Rotzinger (Puebla, Mexico), who tied for the team lead with a 1-over 73 Monday, finished 9-over par for the tournament (74-73-78  225) and in a tie for 16^th in her first collegiate event. She finished 1-over on all par-5 holes for the week, tied with Serrano for the team lead in that category.
 
The Panthers have a short turnaround before their next event, the 8^th-Annual Johnie Imes Invitational, hosted by the University of Missouri, in Columbia. The practice round is Sunday before a 36-hole Monday and final round next Tuesday in the Midwest.
 
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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/.