Dons Defend Title at The Valley Invitational

Monday, February 6

Bakersfield, Calif.

University of San Francisco

The Valley Invitational - Day One

Photo by: USF Athletics

2/7/2023 5:00:00 PM | Women's Golf

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Returning to a place where they had previously had success, the University of San Francisco women's golf team defended their title in Bakersfield to begin the week as the Dons captured the team title at The Valley Invitational for the second straight year while Riana Mission claimed her first individual win at the collegiate level.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS:

After winning the tournament in spring of 2022 with a 31-over-895, the Dons tallied a similar team score this time around as USF finished 33-over-897 to capture the crown for the second year in a row.
Leading the charge, Mission, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament last spring as an individual, was tied for fourth after her first two rounds on day one before she climbed to the top of the leaderboard on Tuesday by firing a 71 to close out play and secure the individual title. Overall, the sophomore shot 3-over-219 (77, 71, 71) as she led all student-athletes in Par 4 scoring (3.97/-1) while also tying for second with ten total birdies across her three rounds.
Close behind, Toni Sottile tied her best performance of the year as she tied for thirteenth overall with a 9-over-225 (74, 73, 78). Notably, her eight birdies tied for the fourth most in the tournament. Overall, it was also her second top fifteen finish of the year as she also tied for thirteenth at The Clash at Boulder Creek to close the fall season on Oct. 24 + 25.
Recording her best finish so far this year, Hannah Zeman also tied Sottile with a 9-over-225 (76, 71, 78). Impressively, she was one of only three student-athletes to record an eagle in the tournament as she eagled hole 10 during her second round.
Gaining experience with each opportunity, Eva Pett finished tied for 29^th with a three-round score of 15-over-231. Overall, the freshman led all student-athletes in Par 3 scoring (2.83/-2) while also tallying 33 pars.
Rounding out the scoring, Jade Siphomsay tied for 34^th by recording an 18-over-234 over the two days in Bakersfield.

CATCHING UP WITH COACH DOELL:
"It was a tough day on the course and I am so proud of all the adversity that this team fought through to pull out the win. To come back and defend our title and do it by one shot is an amazing experience for this team. Riana played some solid golf, hit the ball better than she has all season and it paid off. So excited for her to get her first college win. This is a great spring board for us as we head into some very tough fields on some challenging golf courses. We have a few weeks to work on the things we need to as we prepare for the Causeway Invitational."

UP NEXT:
USF will head to Sacramento for their next tournament as the Dons are set to compete in the Causeway Invitational (hosted by UC Davis) at Del Paso Country Club on Feb. 27 + 28. Live results and scoring will be available via the team's schedule page.

FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the University of San Francisco women's golf program, follow the Dons @USFDonsWGolf on Twitter, @USFDonsWGolf on Instagram and @USFDonsWGOLF on Facebook.

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Provident Credit Union - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.