May 10, 2017

Kiira Riihijarvi Wins NCAA South Super Regional Title

Shoots school and tournament record in round three to clinch championship.

ELGIN, S.C. - University of Tampa freshman golfer Kiira Riihijarvi shot a school and tournament record in the final round of play to win the 2017 NCAA South Super Regional.

Competing as the first-ever Tampa women's golfer in school history to make the NCAA regional, she carded rounds of 78, 72 and 70. Her final score of 220 was two strokes ahead of second-place finisher Brittany LaPadula from Florida Tech.

A freshman from Oulu, Finland, Riihijarvi was UT's top finisher in five of its eighth tournaments in 2016-17. Entering the tournament, she was averaging a school-record 76.8 in 16 rounds of play.

Sunshine State Conference opponent Barry won the team championship at +54. Rollins was the runner-up at +59. Nova Southeastern and Lee played a playoff for third-place as both finished at +64.

Joining Riihijarvi as individual qualifiers LaPadula of Florida Tech (2nd, +6) and Marie Coors of St. Leo (3rd, +7).

"I just felt really confident today," Riihijarvi remarked. "I felt good. I was enjoying the round. The pin placements were really tough, but I putted well and that helped me a lot."

Riihijarvi's two-under 70 was the best round by any golfer in the tournament and capped a comeback from 14th position after Monday's first round. LaPadula was hot in pursuit, shooting a one-under 71 to finish in second place two strokes back.

Head coach Missey Jones and Riihijarvi will advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be held on May 17-20 at Findlay Country Club in Findlay, Ohio.