YSU women golfers finish second in Fla.

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla.

The Youngstown State women’s golf team opened its spring season with a second-place finish in the Motor City Cup match play event at Mission Inn Resort & Club on Tuesday.

YSU and Oakland finished the championship match in a 3-3 tie, but the Golden Grizzlies won the tiebreaker by one hole (9-8 net holes won) to claim the tournament victory.

Katlyn Shutt (5&4), Rattika Sittigool (1-up) and Jenna Vivo (2&1) each recorded individual wins in the final round.

Ranked as the top-overall seed in the tournament bracket, YSU earned a pair of 5-1 wins over Horizon League foes UIC and IUPUI in the first two rounds on Monday to advance to Tuesday’s title match.

In the first-round match against eighth-seeded UIC, Victoria Grans (4&3), Puthita Khuanrudee (7&5), Sittigool (4&3) and Megan Creager (5&4) each earned individual wins while Shutt and Vivo tied their matches. The 5-1 win advanced YSU into the championship bracket for a semifinal matchup with fourth-seeded IUPUI, who bested Northern Kentucky 4.5-1.5 in its first-round match. The Penguins also topped the Jaguars 5-1 as Grans (1-up), Khuanruee (8&6), Sittigool (4&3), Vivo (3&2) and Creager (1-up) were victorious.