Verona, WI. — UC Davis women's golf concluded the first tournament of the 2023-24 season with a ninth-place finish at the Badger Invitational hosted by Wisconsin. 

DAY THREE (Tuesday, September 19)
Vani Karimanal emerged as the top-finishing Aggie, tying for 14th place. Karimanal displayed remarkable consistency throughout three rounds, carding a one-under-par 71 today. She recorded a birdie on her second hole, capping off her three-over-par tournament total with another birdie on the final hole, just narrowly missing a top-10 finish.

Lauren Calderon shone during the final round, shooting even-par. She carded four birdies and delivered her best performance of the tournament during the last set of 18 holes, ultimately finishing tied for 43rd.

Abby Leighton and Skyler May rounded out the top half of the Aggie lineup, both concluding the tournament with totals of 225, placing them tied for 37th on the leaderboard. Despite facing a rain delay, it was impressive for both Leighton and May to limit their mistakes and contribute to UC Davis' tournament-high par count. The Aggies recorded the most pars among all the teams at the Badger Invitational, amassing a field-high 178.

Speaking of pars, Katelyn Parr completed her first-ever collegiate tournament with a seven-over-par 79. She secured two birdies on par 5s, demonstrating a consistent pattern of strong play on these longer holes throughout the weekend.

Consistency was a standout feature for the Aggies during the first tournament of the season. They showed improvement each day, and UC Davis will have an opportunity to continue their progress in the upcoming Coeur d'Alene Resort Collegiate Invitational from September 24-26.

DAY TWO (Monday, September 18)
Fueling the Aggie charge was Abby Leighton who had an eagle on the 515 yard second hole. 

Leighton would finish the day with a one-over-par, 73. She also would add a birdie on the 16th hole.

Recording the best score for UC Davis was freshman Vani Karimanal. In just her second ever collegiate round, Karimanal carded an even-par, 72. After getting a birdie to open up the day, Karimanal rattled off 16 pars to lead the Aggies.

Skyler May continued her impressive start to the season as well, carding a two-over-par, 74. 

Rounding out the Aggie lineup was Lauren Calderon at six-over-par, and Katelyn Parr at eight-over-par. 

The final round will continue tomorrow with all Aggies teeing off at 9:00 a.m. CDT.

DAY ONE (Sunday, September 17) 
The opening round of golf for the 2023-24 season for the Aggies has been a complete team effort with solid starts from the entire lineup. 

Junior Skyler May paced UC Davis, shooting a team-low three-over-par while Lauren Calderon, Abigail Leighton and newcomer Vani Karimanal followed right behind, all shooting four-over-par 76's.

Rounding out the lineup was another newcomer, Katelyn Parr who shot a six-over-par 78 in her collegiate debut. 

The Aggies registered eight birdies as a team and excelled with their consistency, ranking third in the field for birdies on the day with a total of 58.

TEAM RESULTS