KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Led by Melissa Siviter's final-round 67 and low medalist honor, the Georgia State women's golf team shot a school-record 5-under, 283, to finish second at the 19-team Palmetto Intercollegiate on Tuesday afternoon.
Siviter's win was the first of her career as she finished 2-under and with a two-stroke victory among the 99 golfers. The 5-under effort included six birdies and is the third-lowest round in school history.
The Panthers 283 eclipsed the school-record of 285 shot three times before, with one of those rounds coming earlier this year in the third-round of the Old Waverly Bulldog Invitational.
Georgia State finished the 54-hole event 15-over par and just three-strokes behind No. 39 Kansas. The Panthers finished ahead of three teams in the top-50 in the latest Golfstat rankings.
“I am so happy for the team right now,” head coach Cathy Mant said. “All of the hard work the team put in is paying off and they now believe that they can shoot some really low numbers.
“As for Melissa, our entire program is happy for her. She got her putter going today and was hitting the ball so well. It is a well deserved victory for her.
“It is a great was for us to finish the fall. I thought we might be able to get past Kansas today, but they played great, so you have to just tip your cap to them. We can use this result as momentum heading into the spring.”
Siviter eclipsed her previous career-best round of 71 set earlier this month at the Lady Pirate Intercollegiate.
Senior Maria Palacios shot a final round 3-under, 69, to finish tied for fourth at 1-over par. Palacios made five birdies in the final round to tie her career-low which she has now shot three times.
Sophomore Julie Lied finished strong as well with her second-straight 72 to tie for 26th at 11-over. Lied made three birdies in the final round and was just one-stroke off of a personal best.
Lied was tied with senior Laura Sanchez who shot a final-round 3-over, 75, also finishing at 11-over for the 54-hole event.
Junior Lauren Court shot a final-round 4-over, 76, to tie for 36th at 13-over.
Kansas earned a three-stroke victory over the Panthers in a close race for the top-two spots. Georgia State finished 20 strokes ahead of third-place ETSU which finished at 35-over. No. 47 GRU Augusta (formerly Augusta State) finished fourth at 37-over, which No. 42 College of Charleston and No. 36 Illinois finishing tied for fifth at 38-over.
Siviter finished two-strokes ahead of College of Charleston's Laura Fuenfstueck and GRU Augusta's Jessica Haigwood, which each finished at even par. Palacios tied with Kansas' Pornvipa Sakdee at 1-over.
Georgia State has now played in the Palmetto Intercollegiate six times, winning twice and finishing second once.
Monday's final day of play will concluded the fall season for the Panthers. Georgia State will return to action at the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 9-11.
