MIAMI (August 28, 2017) -- As fall classes begin, the FIU golf team announces the final two additions to the 2017-18 campaign, the 11^th under Head Coach Joe Vogel. Incoming freshman Hannah Leiner reported for the start of the semester, while Valentina Gilly will join the program in January at the semester break. This completes the team, which will be an eight-member team in the fall, growing to nine in January in the championship portion of the schedule.
 
"These two, along with our other freshmen will compete for playing time right away," said Vogel. "They should instantly make us more competitive, which is why I wanted to bring them here."
 
Leiner is from nearby Boca Raton and played for the North Broward Prep Eagles and qualified for the State Tournament the last five years. She won an individual district title in 2015 with a 67 and in 2016 after shooting 69. She was part of the Eagles district and regional title teams in 2015 and 2016. She was the Team MVP the past three seasons. She competed in the United States Amateur in 2015, advanced through stroke play and into the round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in 2016 and the Women's Florida Open in 2016 and a few weeks ago in 2017.
 
"Hannah is a big, strong local player who has had a successful amateur career," said Vogel. "She brings a lot of tournament experience and can really play the game."
 
Gilly, who hails from Caracas, Venezuela, tied for medalist honors of the South American Junior Championship with an even-par 288 at the Belém Novo Golf Club in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Last December, she finished in a tie for 10^th in the Junior Orange Bowl Tournament, hosted at the Biltmore Golf Course in Coral Gables, which included a round of 69 in the four-day event. She also competed for Venezuela in the World Team Championship last year in Cancun, Mexico, and has played in six total South American Junior Championships and four Copa Los Andes match play tournaments. She won four-straight Venezuelan National Junior Championships and was twice the Venezuelan Amateur Champion. Her uncle Ivan was a professional golfer on the Asian Tour.
 
"Valentina has a terrific short game," added Vogel. "She brings a lot of high-level cup and international experience and we look forward to her arrival in January."
 
The team has just a few weeks before its first tournament, the Marilynn Smith / Sunflower Invitational, a three-day tournament that starts on September 17 in Manhattan, Kansas.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. 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 with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.