The Youngstown State women’s golf team will begin its 2024-25 season on Monday by hosting the YSU Kickoff at Mill Creek Golf Course in Boardman, Ohio.

Monday’s event will begin a five-tournament fall schedule for the Penguins that will conclude in late October before the season resumes in the spring.

The tournament field at the YSU Kickoff will feature five other schools including Franciscan, John Carroll, LeMoyne, Thiel and Westminster. The teams will play 18 holes on Monday in the one-day, single-round event on Mill Creek’s North Course. Tee times off No. 1 are scheduled to run from 10-11:57 a.m. The course will play approximately 5,923 yards and par is 72.

Head Coach Nate Miklos has announced that YSU’s five-player lineup will feature Neeranuch Prajunpanich, Lizzie Saur, Sofia Perez Escarcena, Valentina Peña Anaya and Adena Rugola. In addition, Maddi Shoults, Bella Saur, Kelly Hutton and Taylor Morrone will be competing as individuals for the Penguins.

YSU’s Tee Times:

• Morrone – 10 a.m.
• Hutton & B. Saur – 10:09 a.m.
• Shoults – 10:18 a.m.
• Rugola – 10:27 a.m.
• Peña Anaya – 10:36 a.m.
• Perez Escarcena – 10:45 a.m.
• L. Saur – 10:54 a.m.
• Prajunpanich – 11:03 a.m.

Mill Creek Golf Course is located at 1 West Golf Drive, Boardman, Ohio 44512. Admission for fans is free.

Season Preview

Looking to Build on Successful 2023-24

• Youngstown State will be looking to build on a successful 2023-24 season that saw the Penguins claim four tournament victories and a runner-up finish at the 2024 Horizon League Championships.
• The Guins claimed four event victories during the fall season for just the second time in program history and for the first time since the 2000-01 season. YSU also finished tied for third at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Invitational during the fall slate last season.
• Youngstown State’s four tournament victories in 2023-24 are tied for the fifth most in a season in program history. It marked the eighth time in program history and the sixth time under Head Coach Nate Miklos that the Guins have won four or more events in a season.
• The 2023-24 season marked the seventh time in program history the Penguins have been the runner-up at the HL Championships, the most recent time prior coming in 2017.

Prajunpanich Returns After Stellar Debut Season

• Rising sophomore Neeranuch Prajunpanich was named Horizon League Freshman of the Year and selected to the All-Horizon League First Team after a stellar debut collegiate campaign in 2023-24. The Samut Prakan, Thailand, native competed in all 11 tournaments and 26 rounds with a 75.8 strokes-per-round average and a low round of 70. Prajunpanich’s 75.8 scoring average ranks as the ninth-lowest single-season mark in program history.
• Prajunpanich became the sixth Penguin to be named the Horizon League’s Newcomer or Freshman of the Year, and the fourth since Miklos took over as head coach in 2013. She joined Katie Rogner (2008), Samantha Formeck (2009), Gabby Minor (2016), Reva Morris (2017) and Puthita Khuanrudee (2019).
• Prajunpanich recorded one tournament victory and seven top-10 finishes while coming in as YSU’s top individual finisher on five occasions last season. She did not finish outside of the top 30 of the individual standings in 11 tournaments played. Prajunpanich’s six rounds of par or better in 2023-24 are tied for the second most in a season in school history. She finished second at the Horizon League Championships with a three-round score of 231 (76-76-79) to earn a spot on the Horizon League All-Tournament Team.

Saur Poised for Strong Senior Season

• Rising senior Lizzie Saur was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team in 2023-24 to collect all-league recognition for the first time in her career. The Grove City, Ohio, native competed in all 11 tournaments and 26 rounds this past season while averaging a career-best 76.6 strokes per round.
• Saur earned eight top-10 finishes while carding a low round of 71. She was named Horizon League Women’s Golfer of the Week on Feb. 15. Saur concluded last season by finishing tied for eighth at the Horizon League Championships with a three-round 237 (79-77-81). She has competed in all 35 events that YSU has played since she joined the program in 2021-22.
• Saur’s career scoring average of 78.0 currently ranks as the seventh-lowest mark in school history.

Returning Experience

• Five players on YSU’s 12-player roster in 2024-25 have prior collegiate experience.
• In addition to Prajunpanich and Saur, junior Adena Rugola has competed in 17 tournaments and 33 rounds over her first two seasons as a Penguin. The Uniontown, Pa., native participated in 10 tournaments and 23 rounds with a career-best 81.0 strokes-per-round average and a low round of 74 as a sophomore last season.
• Redshirt junior Kelly Hutton has competed in six tournaments and nine rounds over her first three years with the program. She participated in three tournaments and three rounds with a career-best 92.3 strokes-per-round average and a low round of 89 last season.
• YSU also brought in talented transfer Maddi Shoults, who will have two years of eligibility remaining. The Circleville, Ohio, native earned NAIA Second-Team All-America honors as one of the best freshmen in the nation at Ottawa University Arizona in 2022-23. She was named GSAC Co-Freshman of the Year and earned all-conference honors after finishing in the top 20 in every event including the NAIA Championship where she tied for 19th. Shoults led her team in scoring average and ranked 15th nationally by Golfstat with a 75.18 strokes-per-round average.
• Shoults earned NAIA Second-Team All-America honors for the second straight season as a sophomore in 2023-24. She won a pair of events during her sophomore campaign and finished in the top 30 of the national individual rankings.

Youth Movement

• Youngstown State’s 2024-25 roster features seven true freshmen, four of which will make their collegiate debut on Monday at the YSU Kickoff.
• Spain native Sofia Perez Escarcena and Mexico native Valentina Peña Anaya will each be in the lineup on Monday when YSU begins the 2024-25 season. In addition, Ohio natives Taylor Morrone and Bella Saur will each be competing as individuals in the season-opening event.
• Three additional true freshmen who hail from the state of Ohio are expected to redshirt during the 2024-25 season (Maureen Burns, Sophia Rivera and Matilyn Zines).

Roster Breakdown

• Youngstown State’s 2024-25 roster includes eight players from the state of Ohio and one from Pennsylvania. There are four Mahoning Valley natives and three international student-athletes hailing from Mexico, Spain and Thailand.
• YSU’s roster includes one senior, three juniors, one sophomore and seven freshmen.

For the latest news and updates throughout the 2024-25 season, follow @YSUWomensGolf on X and Instagram.