The Virginia Women’s Golf team touched down in Miyoshi City, Japan on Sunday to participate in the University Golf Super League Tournament. We caught up with Head Coach Ria Scott who explained how her team’s participation in the tournament came to fruition and why it was so important to her to secure the opportunity:
“This opportunity came through an invitation in a unique way: through our International Studies Office. Typically, we receive tournament invitations from other institutions head coaches, inviting us to their tournaments. I knew this one was different, and special, when it came from the International Studies Office down on Grounds.
I knew that this would be such a unique experience, and a once in a lifetime trip for most. I just knew that I had to find a way to make it work in our tournament schedule!
One of my favorite things about being a college golf coach is providing unique experiences to our student-athletes. I love knowing that some of these experiences have come to them because they chose to be student-athletes at the University of Virginia.
Golf continues to be a vehicle for so much learning - it teaches us about life, and in this case, also teaches us about the world.
There are 14 men’s teams and 14 women’s teams at Grand Fields Country Club— The United States, Thailand, China, Taiwan, and all over Japan.
The individual portion of the competition is coed, so they will only crown one individual champion. They will continue to crown a team champion on the men’s side, and a team champion on the women’s side.
The top two men’s teams in the top two women’s teams will be paired together in the final round.
We toured Tokyo for two days before the tournament, and to adjust to the time difference.
It has also shown our players that college Golf exists around the world!
After the first two rounds, the Virginia team finished in first place leading by 10 and in the individual competition, Amanda Sambach finished in first place with scores of 67-66”
After we spoke to Coach Scott, her team would go on to secure both the Team Championship and the Individual Championship which of course after her stellar first two rounds, went to Amanda Sambach.
