Hurricanes golf disappoints at Moon Golf Invitational

The Miami Hurricanes golf team had a mediocre showing last week in Orlando, Florida at the UCF Challenge, finishing eighth out of 18 teams. The team entered this week hoping to have a bounce-back performance at the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Florida. Unfortunately for them, that was far from the case.

The Hurricanes finished last out of 15 teams and finished 61 shots behind first-place Florida State.

“We are very disappointed with our play this weekend,” Miami head coach Patti Rizzo said. “We are much better than what we showed.”

In a week that had very few positive takeaways for the team, the Canes must do anything they can to remain confident in themselves. Redshirt junior Anna Backman will try and do that with her performances from the first two rounds.

Despite finishing with a final-round 78 (6-over), Backman shot her ninth and 10th round of par or better on the season during the first two rounds. Backman shot an even-par 72 on Sunday and followed that up with a 1-under-par 71 on Monday. Backman finished the three-day tournament at 5-over par and in a tie for 37th place.

Redshirt sophomore Franziska Sliper finished in a tie for 72nd place. After two consecutive 6-over 78’s on Sunday and Monday, Sliper shot a 3-over-par 75, which was a 3-shot improvement from her first two rounds.

Like Sliper, redshirt sophomore Nataliya Guseva struggled over the first two days but improved substantially during the final round. After an 11-over-par 83 on Sunday and an 8-over-par 80 on Monday, Guseva fired an even-par 72 on Tuesday. Guseva finished in a tie for 79th place but will use the bounce-back final round to build momentum into this weekend’s matchup against Florida State.

Redshirt senior Kristyna Frydlova finished in a tie for 76th place. Frydlova shot a pair of 5-over-par 77’s on Sunday and Tuesday and a 7-over-par 79 on Monday.

Second-year freshman Sara Byrne had a week to forget. The redshirt sophomore entered the week as the team’s No. 1 seed but finished in 82nd place. After shooting 80 and 83 on Sunday and Monday, Byrne shot a 4-over 76 on Tuesday.

“We have to fix our mistakes, erase this week from our minds and be strong next week,” Rizzo said.

The Hurricanes will have to move on from their lackluster showing quickly as they travel to Tallahassee, Florida for their FSU Match-Up from Feb. 25-27.