CSU Kicks Off Spring Season At FAU Paradise Invitational, Feb. 7-8

Tournament: FAU Paradise Invitational
Dates: February 7-8, 2022
Host: Florida Atlantic University
Location: Boca Raton, Fla.
Course: Osprey Point-Raven & Falcon
Course Par/Yardage: Par 72 / 6,204 yds
Host Web Site: https://fausports.com
Live Scoring: https://csura.ms/3Go8MA8
Tournament Field (15): Colorado State, Florida Atlantic, Arkansas State, Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida International, James Madison, Loyola Chicago, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Florida, Seton Hall, South Florida, UT-San Antonio, Vanderbilt

Next on the Tee: Colorado State starts its spring schedule at the FAU Paradise Invitational, Feb. 7-8. The three-day, 54-hole tournament, hosted by Florida Atlantic University, is being played at the Osprey Point-Raven & Falcon Nines (Par 72 - 6,204 yards) in Boca Raton, Fla. The Rams will be playing with Seton Hall and Florida Gulf Coast on the first day and starting on holes 12-15.

Lineup for the FAU Paradise Invitational: The Rams are in the play-five, count-four event this week at Osprey Point. For CSU, the lineup will be:
1.            Andrea Bergsdottir
2.            Gabby Minier
3.            Lacey Uchida
4.            Sofia Torres
5.            Pemika Arphamongkol - "Fancy"

Handicapping the Field In Boca Raton: Joining Colorado State and host Florida Atlantic for the 2022 event are Arkansas State, Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida International, James Madison, Loyola Chicago, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Florida, Seton Hall, South Florida, UT-San Antonio, Vanderbilt.

Last Time Out: On Monday, the course gave the team hope.
                On Tuesday, it became a classroom for a young Colorado State women's golf team. Entering the final round of the Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic at Ptarmigan Country Club, the Rams were just four strokes behind Nevada on the team leaderboard, well within striking distance.
                All the work came on a perfect day for golf, but Tuesday was a different story. The temperatures dropped, the wind arrived and occasionally, a bit of rain. The Rams were 1-over on Monday during the play of two rounds, but swelled to 21-over on the final 18, leaving team in second place on the board. Nevada slipped, too, and Cal Poly, shooting a final round of 3-over 291, left town with the title.
                Coach Laura Cilek was disappointed, but she's hopeful the lessons learned will serve her team down the road.
                "I actually had a little higher expectations than what transpired," she said. "I don't think we're ever out there not trying, but I definitely think we got schooled in mental toughness today. We let the golf course play us more than we played it, and we felt short of winning. We had a great chance to take advantage of a hard day on a golf course we know well."
                Just five individuals shot par or better on the final round, including individual titlist Ellen Nicholas of Incarnate Word, who finished even on the day and 4-under for the tournament at 212. Colorado State's best round on the day came from Panchalika Arphamongkol as she was 3-over for the round, 4-over 220 for the tournament. Cilek called it the "curse of the individual," as she was independent and not a scoring member of the roster.
                Officially, it was Gabby Minier who led the team, her 6-over round of 78 leaving her at 5-over 221 for the tournament, putting her in 11th place. Pemika Arphamongkol had the team's best scoring round of the day, a 3-over 75 to move her up 14 spots and finished tied for 26th at 227.
                Andrea Bergsdottir finished tied for 12th at 6-over 222. She's played on days like this before, and she would have preferred a better round, but she felt she did the best she could in terms of not letting bad shots multiply.
                The temperature made her bundle up, but that wasn't what she battled most.
                "The wind, definitely. It was hard, both down wind and against it," she said. "You have to control the shots you were hitting. It's kind of like Sweden; I should be used to this, but it's always hard. You need to be on track to shoot low today, because it was really tough.
                "I'm just trying to make it simple, because I know bogies will come and it's hard to make birdies. I was just trying to hit fairways and greens and be happy with the shots that are not hard and complicated."
                There isn't a senior on the roster, and there were two freshmen in the lineup, with Lacey Uchida joining Pemika. She came in 7-over 223 after playing the first day even. Sofia Torres, who came in with Panchalika last year, closed at 11-over, as well.
                As for Panchalika, she would have preferred to be part of the scoring roster, but she had a rough week last week. That gave her a bit of motivation for the tournament, to earn her way back after being the team's scoring leader a year ago. Still, she spent time keeping tabs on her teammates, waving to her sister often as the two played in back-to-back groups. She joked she didn't miss her last year, but she's definitely glad to have her as a teammate now.
                Even on a gloomy day, she found bright spots.
                "I did putt really well today," she said. "I think I made almost every putt that was close, and my short game was pretty good too. The wind made it so hard. I think it will help with my toughness. I need to adjust a lot between a day or two, because it can change every day."
                This was the Rams' final tournament before the spring season, when they resume play on Feb. 7 in Boca Raton, Fla., in the FAU Paradise Invitational. The break will give the team ample time to reflect on what happened in Tuesday's final round and how to make adjustments.
                Cilek is absolutely positive her team will grow from the experience, and there were times she gave them room to figure out things on their own.

Fast Five On the 2021-22 Season:
This is the fifth tournament for the Rams this season as CSU is coming off its top finish of the year with a third at the Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic.

The Rams have three top-10 and nine top-25 individual finishes this season, with the nine top-25s going to five separate players (Panchalika Arphamongkol, Andrea Bergsdottir, Gabby Minier, Sofia Torres and Lacey Uchida).
The Rams are the only college team in the country to feature two pairs of sisters on the roster (Panchalika & Pemika Arphamongkol and Thea & Tomine Bjerkelo).
Head coach Laura Cilek is in her fourth year as leader of the Rams.
CSU returns the top five scorers from last year, but all three freshmen have cracked the lineup at least once each so far this season.

Friendly Honored As All-American Scholar: Freshman Panchalika Arphamongkol was named to the 2020-21 Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar team as the association announced its annual honors. The criteria to be named an All-American Scholar includes a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50.
                Overall, 1,432 women's collegiate golfers were recognized with the prestigious All-American Scholar honor including a combined 38 from the Mountain West.

On the World Stage: Two Rams on the current roster are ranked among the top 1200 players in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings, as of February 5. The rankings are based on their average performance in selected counting events over the past two calendar years.
Player   WAGR
Andrea Bergsdottir          1116
Sofia Torres        1171

Coming Up:
                CSU will be back in competition qulckly, heading to Las Vegas, Nev. for The Show at Spanish Trail on Mon.-Tue., Feb. 14-15.

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