The University of Iowa women’s golf team is set to compete in the Spartan Suncoast Collegiate, taking place February 15–16 at Palm Aire Country Club in Sarasota, Florida. The event will feature a 54-hole format and begins with a shotgun start at 7:15 a.m. Central Time on Sunday.
Iowa’s lineup for the tournament includes senior Riley Lewis, junior Ximena Benites, junior Maura Peters, senior Kaitlyn Hanna, and freshman Sunny Wang. Fans can follow live scoring throughout the event via Scoreboard, powered by Clippd.
The field consists of 15 teams: College of Charleston, Clemson University, Florida International University, Kent State University, Michigan State University, Northwestern, Ohio State University, Princeton, Purdue University, University of Illinois, University of Iowa, University of Kentucky, University of Maryland, University of Michigan and University of Oklahoma.
Palm Aire Country Club is known for its two championship courses and strategic layout. The club has hosted numerous amateur and collegiate tournaments and is recognized for its challenging conditions as well as quality facilities.
In their last outing at the Puerto Rico Classic, the Hawkeyes finished 12th with a three-round total score of 869 (286–293–290). Senior Riley Lewis led Iowa with an eighth-place finish—the best result of her career—recording a total score of 211 (68–69–74) and making 11 birdies during the tournament. Junior Ximena Benites finished tied for 29th after improving five spots on the leaderboard Monday with a total score of 215 (71–72–72). Junior Maura Peters tied for 44th place with a final score of 218 (72–75–71), closing out her performance one-under par after making two birdies in the final round.
Lewis recently achieved her career-best eighth-place finish to open up her spring season at the Puerto Rico Classic. Peters recorded her second consecutive top-10 finish during the fall season at the Diane Thomason Invitational. Both Lewis and Wang earned top-20 finishes at that same event. Benites paced Iowa at the Boilermaker Classic in the fall by tying for 18th place with a three-under-par opening round.
Following this week’s competition in Florida, Iowa will next participate in the Briars Creek Invitational on March 16-17 in Johns Island, South Carolina.
