The Mississippi State University women’s golf team closed out the regular season Sunday with a fifth-place finish at Battle at the Beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

MSU women’s golf traveled to Mexico ranked seventh in the country and looked to continue to climb the rankings with a successful outing at Club Campestre San Jose.

However, the road to success would not come easy for the Bulldogs. MSU competed against ranked SEC teams Louisiana State University, Vanderbilt University, the University of Mississippi, the University of Arkansas and the University of Missouri.

MSU opened the tournament with a rocky start in the first round but followed up with a seven-under second round with three individual rounds in the 60s — ranking as the 15th-lowest team round in school history.

After 36 holes, the Bulldogs were sitting in seventh place by shooting eight over. All-American sophomore Julia Lopez Ramirez finished the second round in the 60s, which bumped her up from 55th to 15th place heading into the final round.

Other notable performances from the second round of the tournament included senior Abbey Daniel (3-under, 68) and freshman Surapa Janthamunee (2-under, 69). Daniel moved from 77th to 39th, and Janthamunee jumped from 34th to 17th heading into the final round from Mexico.

In the final round Sunday, the Bulldogs came out swinging. Lopez Ramirez finished the front nine with a total of three birdies to put her in sixth place halfway through the round. Lopez Ramirez finished the tournament in fifth place (4-under, 209). In her debut wearing the maroon-and-white, Janthamunee performed outstandingly for the Bulldogs — sinking six birdies and ending the tournament in ninth place (2-under, 211).

After a gutsy performance, the MSU women’s golf team fought back to finish the Battle at the Beach in fifth place. 

Bulldogs head coach Charlie Ewing spoke to the media about the performance from the women’s team in Mexico.

“I am really proud of the effort this team showed this week,” Ewing said. “Strong character and resilience have probably been the most consistent things this team has given this semester. You cannot coach that. I am so grateful for this group.”

MSU women’s golf battled and dug themselves out of a deep hole in the second and third rounds. Overall impressive performances from the likes of Lopez Ramirez and Janthamunee aided the Bulldogs to fifth place at the Battle at the Beach.

After the fifth-place finish, coach Ewing discussed the struggles the Bulldogs faced during the first round and what MSU women’s golf can build on for the spring semester.

“We dug ourselves too deep of a hole the first 10 holes or so of that first round. If we want to compete in a field like that with some of the top teams in the country, we simply cannot give away that many shots to start the event,” coach Ewing said. “From the middle of the first round until the end of the tournament, we got on a roll and battled hard. I love that they keep showing themselves what they are capable of. That is only going to build confidence, which is irreplaceable.”

After an impressive performance from the women’s golf team in Mexico, the Bulldogs have closed out the fall semester. According to Golfweek via USA Today Sports, the MSU women’s golf team ranks eighth in the nation and finished the fall semester with 10 wins against top-25 opponents. The future schedule will be announced at a later date while the Bulldogs look to carry their success from the fall into the spring.