LAWRENCE, Kan. — Vani Karimanal (73-72-75 - 220, +7) and Nina Choe (72-74-76 - 222, +9) continued their strong starts to the 2026-27 season by finishing seventh and eighth at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational that concluded with the final 18 holes of action Tuesday at the Lawrence Country Club. Their performances over the last two days lifted UC Davis (302-295-300 - 897, +45) to a fourth-place finish at the 54-hole event won by host Kansas (276-289-293 - 858, +6).
Karimanal and Choe have now combined for five top-10 finishes over the the Aggies' first three fall tournaments, including in two previous events with Choe finishing among the top-10 in both and Karimanal in the Aggies' most recent outing Sept. 21-22 at the Ben Connell Ram Classic.
Michelle Ho (77-75-72 - 224, +11) actually put together the best round of the day for the Aggies on Tuesday with a one-over par 73 and finished just behind Karimanal and Choe in a tie for 10th. Ho's third round included three birdies on the par-five third hole, par-four ninth and par-three 17th to help mitigate four bogeys on the par-three second and seventh holes on the front nine, as well as the par-five 12th and par-four 13th on the back.
Karimanal had three birdies (5, 11, 12), five bogeys (1, 2, 3, 13, 17) and a double bogey (16) on Tuesday, while Choe had a single birdie (12) and six bogeys (1, 7, 10, 13, 15, 17).
Claire Chang (80-74-77 - 231, +18) and Wendi Ma (81-82-78 - 241, +28) also competed for the Aggies, finishing tied for 34th and tied for 54th, respectively.
"We're proud of the fight we showed this week, but we know we're capable of more," head coach Amelia Hicks said. "Three players in the top 10 is a positive takeaway, and we also identified some areas we need to improve. We'll learn from this week and get back to work with our focus on being better every day."
Delaware's Rhianna Gooneratne (70-71-70 - 211, -2) was the individual winner.
UC Davis wraps up its 2026 fall schedule Oct. 16-18 at the Stanford Intercollegiate.
MARILYNN SMITH SUNFLOWER INVITATIONAL - MONDAY-TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5-6, 2026
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ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS
UC Davis, ranked No. 2 among public universities by the Wall Street Journal in the value of a college degree, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked top in the United States in agriculture and forestry as well as No. 1 in veterinary medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026-27.
For more information, visit ucdavisaggies.com.
