Hokie ClubThe Virginia Tech women's golf team opens the fall portion of their 2018-19 season, as they return to the Minnesota Invitational. The two-day event, hosted by the University of Minnesota, will be played Monday and Tuesday, September 10 and 11 at the Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury, Minnesota.
The Hokies are one of three ACC teams in the 15-team event. Six teams in the tournament, including the Hokies, made the NCAA Regionals last season. Oklahoma is ranked 24th in the preseason 2018-19 Women's Golf Coaches Association poll.
Virginia Tech will start four of the five golfers who competed in the 2018 NCAA Austin Regional in May. The Hokies, in just their third season of competition, earned an at-large bid into the NCAA field. All four also started in last season's Minnesota Invitational, in which the Hokies finished seventh.
Amanda Hollandsworth, a graduate student from Floyd, Virginia, returns for her final year of competition. She was second in scoring average last season for the Hokies and two of her three rounds in Austin were under par.
Elizabeth Bose, a senior from Norfolk, Virginia, led the Hokies in scoring average last season. She shot an opening-round 66 in last year's Minnesota Invitational, the lowest round in Virginia Tech women's golf history. She finished tied for third in this event last season, one of four top 10 finishes she recorded last season.
Jessica Spicer, a junior from Bahama, North Carolina, was in the starting line-up in every event last season. She was fourth on the team in scoring average. She holds the distinction of hitting the first shot in NCAA Regional history for the Hokies.
Emily Mahar, a sophomore from Brisbane, Australia, was third on the team in scoring average in her freshman season. She finished tied for 14th in last season's Minnesota Invitational, posting scores of par-or-better in all three rounds. Her final round 3-under 69 was tied for her low round of the season and tied for the team's third-lowest round of the season.
The lone newcomer in the Hokies' line-up in Minnesota is Keera Foocharoen. The freshman from Bangkok, Thailand, had a strong qualifying performance this fall for the Hokies to capture a spot in the starting line-up. As a junior golfer, Foocharoen won the 2017 Singapore Junior Golf Championship.
Live scoring will be available on Hokiesports.com, via a link from Golfstat.com. The teams will play a practice round on Sunday, followed by 36 holes of competition on Monday and the final round will be played Tuesday.