As students across Mississippi State University’s campus wind down and take their last finals before summer break, the MSU women’s golf team is working hard and preparing to compete in the NCAA Tournament.
Led by head coach Charlie Ewing and assistant coach Lauren Whyte, MSU’s grit and determination is beginning to pay off. The team earned the number one seed in the Westfield Regional in Westfield, Indiana, for the first time in program history.
The Bulldogs are coming off one of their best seasons, as they never placed below the top five in a tournament and secured victories for three of them, including back-to-back wins at the Mason Rudolph Championship and Blessings Collegiate Invitational. MSU has also been among the SEC’s top performers all season, averaging 295.62 strokes per round and barely falling short to Texas A&M in the SEC Championship 3-2.
The team’s backbone this season has been Spanish-born Julia Lopez Ramirez. Ramirez finished the regular season with an average score of 70.31, which was the best average in MSU history and the second-best average of all women collegiate golfers this season.
Lopez Ramirez has flourished this season, winning two individual titles and placing inside the top five in eight tournaments. Coming off an individual crown at the SEC Championship, she earned the honor of SEC Player of the Year.
Lopez Ramirez was not the only Bulldog to earn conference honors, as two freshmen Izzy Pellot and Surapa Janthamunee became the fifth and sixth players in program history named on the SEC’s All-Freshman Team. 
Pellot has shined in her first year at State, averaging 72.7 strokes per round and becoming only the second player in MSU history to earn multiple SEC Freshman of the Week honors, following in Lopez Ramirez’s footsteps last season. Pellot, who secured six top-20 finishes in nine events, also earned a spot on the SEC’s Community Service Team.
Janthamunee became a centerpiece in the Bulldog lineup this spring, shooting an average of 73.41 per round and recording eight rounds of par or better golf, including two in the 60s. 
Senior leadership has also been vital for the Bulldogs this season. Hannah Levi came alive in the second half of the season, capturing five-straight top-25 finishes to end the year. Abbey Daniel has also been an essential part of the Bulldog’s starting five throughout the year, giving the team nine rounds of par or better golf with a top-10 finish in The Ally.
Regional play will occur May 8 – 10 at six regional sites with 12 teams competing for a top-five finish to advance to the championship round. The top five teams and the low individual not on an advancing team from each regional site will go on to play in the national championships May 19 – 24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.