Seven Birdies Leads Ana Maria Jimenez Rios to NCAA National Championships Appearance

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The University of Tampa's Ana Maria Jimenez Rios played a spectacular third round at the NCAA Division II South Regional to advance to the NCAA National Championships.

Jimenez Rios, who entered the day at No. 20 in the overall standings, shot a tournament-best 65 in the third round to finish fourth overall. Wednesday's round followed rounds of 77 and 72 as she would finish with a 214 (-2).

The third round 65 goes down as the second-best round in program history, falling two shots of Kiira Riihijarvi's 63 in 2018. The score does rank as the program's best score in the NCAA Tournament.

She began round three on the back nine, opening with a birdie on hole 10. She would finish the back nine with a birdie on four of the last five holes. She would finish the round with seven birdies and she registered one-shot under in two of the last three holes.

Jimenez Rios led all participants with 13 total birdies in the three-day, three-round tournament. She would also complete a round three where she was par-or-better on all 18 holes.

With her performance, she now advances to the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championships, which is scheduled for May 21-25 at the Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge in Winter Garden, Fla.

This marks the second straight year for Jimenez Rios advancing to the NCAA Championships, as she advanced after winning the 2023 NCAA South Regional. She would then finish 39th overall at the NCAA National Championships.