FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After strong showings in the second and third rounds, sophomore Virunpat Olankitkunchai of the Maryland women's golf team finished tied for 43rd in the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships Sunday at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.
 
Olankitkunchai teed off in the third and final round Monday just before 8 a.m. local time. She birdied three holes, parred three holes and bogeyed three holes on the front nine to stay even. On the back nine, she bogeyed 12 and 14, then birdied the par-4 18^th hole to finish +1 on the day. She finished the tournament with a score of 230 (83-73-74), which was +11 overall.
 
Olankitkunchai moved up 58 spots on the leaderboard from her first round to finish tied for 43^rd out of the 132- player field. Olankitkunchai entered the tournament ranked No. 72 in the country and beat 28 players ranked ahead of her. She was one of just 12 individuals in the country to advance to the NCAA Championships.
 
"Virunpat had a tough first round, but she came back and shot even on her second round and one over par on her third round, which was really impressive after a tough first day," head coach Diana Cantu said. "She hit the ball really well and came back to make four birdies two days in a row.
 
"Having Ou [Olankitkunchai] compete here is a big deal. We're really excited to be here and have the experience and see that we can get here as a team, hopefully soon. It gives us the motivation to work really hard to get here all together."
 
All 24 teams and 12 individuals played 18 holes Friday. They all played their next rounds over Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, due to the weather delays. The stroke play determined the top eight teams for match play competition. Arkansas' Maria Fassi won the individual national title with her score of 211 (72-71-68), which was eight strokes under par.
 
Blessings Golf Club is a par-73 course that covers 6,473 yards.
 
Olankitkunchai, a native of Bangkok, Thailand, is the first Terrapin to qualify for the NCAA Championships. She is one of three individuals from the Auburn Regional to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Olankitkunchai, who earned All-Big Ten First Team honors this year, shot a one-over 73 in the third and final round to finish with a score of 213 (70-70-73), which was three under total and tied her for third.
 
This marked the fifth all-time trip to NCAA Regionals for the Terrapins and a first for fifth-year head coach Diana Cantu.