Iowa Set For The Big Ten Championships

THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s golf team heads to the Big Ten Championships in Havre de Grace, Maryland from April 18-20. The 54-hole tournament will be played at the Bulle Rock Golf Course (par 72, 6,314 yards) with tee times beginning Friday at 7:30 a.m. (CT).

FOLLOW LIVE
Fans can follow the tournament via live scoring on Scoreboard, powered by Clippd.

THE LINEUP
Iowa’s lineup includes senior Paula Miranda, sophomore Ximena Benites, sophomore Maura Peters, junior Riley Lewis and freshman Lily Huether.
• Miranda will be playing in her fourth Big Ten Championships, Lewis in her third and Benites in her second. Peters and Huether will be making their collegiate postseason debuts.

THE FIELD
The 18-team field includes three teams in the top 10, five in the top 25 and seven in the top 50 of the NCAA golf rankings. The top three teams are No. 5 Oregon, No. 7 USC and No. 10 Northwestern.

THE COURSE
After opening in 1998, Bulle Rock Golf Course has been named Maryland’s No. 1 public golf course on a consistent basis. Pete Dye designed the course near the intersection of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay. The course is enjoyable, yet challenging for golfers of all experience levels.

LAST MEET
Senior Paula Miranda fired a season-best, three-under par 69 to close out the Veritex Bank Challenge as she finished the tournament tied for 11th place with a 219. The Hawkeyes also had two golfers -- junior Riley Lewis and sophomore Maura Peters -- tie for 26th with a 224. Iowa placed eighth as a team with a 891 total. 

2024 BIG TEN REVIEW
The Hawkeyes tied for 13th at the 2024 Big Ten Championships in Maryland, finishing with a three-round total of 902. Iowa had two players finish in the top 40 with Madison Dabagia tying for 31st with a 221 and Kaitlyn Hanna tying for 37th with a 223. 

TOURNAMENT TITLES
The Hawkeyes have won two tournaments during the 2024-25 season, finishing first at the Diane Thomason Invitational and Nashville Invitational. It is the most team titles in the same season since the 1999-00 season. The Diane Thomason Invitational title was the team’s first team title since 2021. 

OF NOTE…
• Senior Paula Miranda has posted a team-best 74.27 scoring average this season with five top-20 and one top 10 finish. She has led the team in eight of the team’s 10 tournaments this season.
• Sophomore Ximena Benites has a team-high two top 10 finishes and a total of five top 20 showings. She has a 74.65 scoring average -- second-best on the team.
• Benites and Miranda are tied on the team lead with eight rounds at or below par. Miranda has 28 such rounds in her career.
• Benites fired back-to-back 69s at the Hurricane Invitational, matching the team’s lowest round of the fall. Miranda’s final round 69 in Texas matched the team’s season-low.
• Three Hawkeyes -- Miranda, Benites and Peters -- are the only players to compete in all 10 tournaments this season.