SARASOTA, Fla. — The Virginia Tech women's golf team improved its team tally each day en route to tying for fifth place at the Heroes Ladies Intercollegiate. Purdue hosted the three-day event (Feb. 7-9) at the par 72, 6,281-yard The Founders Golf Club.
The Hokies, who entered the final round in seventh, climbed two spots behind a 1-over 289 Tuesday. It was the fourth-best round of the day. Tech totaled a 10-over 874 (295-290-289) to tie Northwestern in the fifth position. The tournament marked the first team competition for the Hokies since March 7-8, 2020 (Gators Invitational) due to COVID-19.
Continuing her strong play from individual tournaments she competed in during the offseason, Becca DiNunzio fired a career-best, 54-hole ledger of 4-under 212 (75-68-69) to place sixth. The Norfolk, Virginia, native tied for third in the field in par-3 scoring at 3-under. As a team, the Hokies tied for second in par-3 scoring at +6. DiNunzio charted a team-best 13 birdies.
Emily Mahar notched another top-20 showing for her career, tying for 15th at 2-over 218 (69-72-77). She finished with seven birdies on the week. Behind a 3-under 69 in the final round, Alyssa Montgomery surged up the leaderboard to tie for 24th at 5-over 221 (77-75-69). The sophomore carded 10 birdies over her 54 holes, including five on the final day.
Keerattriya Foocharoen tied for 52nd at 228, while Jessica Spicer placed 61st at 231 to round out the Tech lineup.
The Hokies beat some strong teams in the field, including No. 11 Tennessee, No. 14 Texas Tech, Clemson, Illinois and Purdue. Tech was the top finisher among ACC programs, topping Clemson (8th), Notre Dame (12th) and NC State (13th).
No. 10 Oklahoma State used a 6-under 282 in Tuesday's final round to overtake No. 4 Ole Miss for the team title. OSU finished with a 2-stroke edge (849-851) over the Rebels, fueled by individual medalist Maja Stark's 15-under 201 (66-66-69).
Tech is back in action Feb. 21-22 at the Palmetto Spring Intercollegiate hosted by College of Charleston at Turtle Point Golf Course in Kiawah Island, S.C.
