FORT COLLINS, Colo. — UC Davis (285-286-292 - 863, -1) tied for fourth place at the Ben Connell Ram Classic that wrapped up Tuesday at the Ptarmigan Country Club and was led by a trio of players that finished in the top dozen. Vani Karimanal (70-68-73 - 211, -5) started the third and final round as one of four players sharing the lead before finishing in a tie for fifth, while Nina Choe (73-67-74 - 214, -2) tied for 10th and Michelle Ho (69-74-73 - 216, E) tied for 12th.
"We are excited to have three top-12 finishers and a respectable team finish, but we're also a bit disappointed because we didn't play as well today as we did yesterday," head coach Amelia Hicks said. "We put ourselves in a position to finish higher than we did, and we want to make sure we capitalize on it when we do that. But, all in all, it was a good showing and we just want to keep improving. The ceiling is high for this team."
UC Davis did improve three places and 18 strokes on par from its seventh-place showing in 17-over-par in its previous tournament Sept. 14-15 at the Leadership and Golf Invitational hosted by Seattle and Washington. Karimanal was also up 22 spots on the leaderboard and Ho five, while Choe was down five but still recorded her second top-10 finish in her second collegiate tournament.
For the second consecutive event, Gabriella Illardi (73-78-72 - 223, +7) had the Aggies' best score in the third and final round with her even-par effort on Tuesday to move up 13 spots on the day into a tie for 41st that was one down from her showing at the Leadership and Golf Invitational, while Wendi Ma (76-77-75 - 228, +12) was up four spots on the day into a tie for 61st on the final player leaderboard after a three-over par round that was a season-best in her first event of the 2026-27 campaign.
Claire Chang (75-77-80 - 232, +16) played as an individual and finished in a tie for 69th.
UNLV (286-278-281 - 845, -19) won both the team and individual crowns in dominating performances with the Rebels 15 strokes better than second-place Washington (291-279-290 - 860, -4) in the 13-team event and Kuree Little five shots ahead of the other 75 players in the field.
The Aggies continue their four-tournament fall schedule at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational hosted by Kansas (Oct. 5-6) before concluding their fall slate at the Stanford Intercollegiate hosted by Stanford (Oct. 16-18).
BEN CONNELL RAM CLASSIC - MONDAY-TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21-22, 2026
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.
