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The Youngstown State women’s golf team is scheduled to start the spring portion of its 2025-26 season on Monday when it begins play in The Oyster Shuck Match Play event at Charleston Municipal Golf Course in Charleston, S.C.

The Oyster Shuck Match Play begins a spring schedule for the Penguins which includes six scheduled events culminating with the 2026 Horizon League Championships on April 25-27 at Mission Resort + Club in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla. YSU is slated to play tournaments in South Carolina, Florida and Kentucky before back-to-back tournaments in Ohio prior to the league championships.

The Oyster Shuck Match Play event will feature tournament match play in a bracket-style format with all rounds counting and the winning team in each head-to-head match advancing. The tournament will feature seven other schools including The Citadel (host), Gardner-Webb, High Point, Presbyterian, Radford, Samford and Winthrop.

Head Coach Nate Miklos has announced that YSU’s five-player lineup will include Neeranuch Prajunpanich, Maddi Shoults, Sofia Perez Escarcena, Valentina Peña Anaya and Bella Saur.

Monday’s first round of play is scheduled to begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. while the second round is set to begin at approximately 1:30 p.m. that afternoon. The final round of competition is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The course will play approximately 5,810 yards and par is 72.

Scores and winners will be posted at the completion of each round with results available on YSUsports.com as well as the program’s social media channels.

Fall Season Recap

Three Tournament Wins Highlight Another Successful Fall


YSU finished in the top five on the team leaderboard in each of its six tournaments during the fall portion of the 2025-26 season.
The Guins opened the fall campaign with a fourth-place finish at Clemson’s Tiger Classic on Aug. 25  before rattling off three straight tournament victories at the YSU Kickoff (Sept. 1), the Total Athlete Collegiate (Sept. 8-9) and the Roseann Schwartz Invitational (Sept. 21-22).
YSU finished as the runner-up at Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish Classic on Sept. 28 before closing the fall slate with a fifth-place performance at Delaware’s Lady Blue Hen Invitational on Oct. 18-19.
The Penguins set new school records for lowest 36-hole performance and lowest team round in relation to par while winning their third straight fall tournament at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational on Sept. 22. After seizing a commanding 21-shot advantage with a team score of 290 in the opening round, YSU pulled away with a school-record 284 (-4) in the second session to win the event by 36 strokes over runner-up Purdue Fort Wayne.
Youngstown State’s 284 ranks as the lowest round in relation to par in program history, eclipsing the previous mark of 285 (-3) at the Indiana State University Invitational in 2018-19. The Penguins finished the tournament at two under par with a two-round team total of 574 to set a new school record for lowest 36-hole tournament. YSU surpassed the previous mark of 577, which was also set at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational in 2018-19.

Prajunpanich Continues Stellar Play After Historic Sophomore Season


Junior Neeranuch Prajunpanich continued her stellar play this past fall after enjoying a historic sophomore season in 2024-25 that featured an individual title at the Horizon League Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Regionals. The Samut Prakan, Thailand, native earned five top five performances in six events during the fall portion of the 2025-26 season.
Prajunpanich, the reigning Horizon League Women’s Golfer of the Year, finished in a three-player tie atop the individual leaderboard at seven under par with a two-round score of 137 (67-70) at Clemson’s Tiger Classic on Aug. 25 to begin her junior campaign. The junior’s two-round 137 ranks as the second-lowest individual 36-hole performance in school history. It is the lowest 36-hole score by a Penguin since Katlyn Shutt recorded a school-record 132 (68-64) at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational on Sept. 3-4, 2018.
Prajunpanich fired a career-low and bogey-free round of 64 to finish at eight under par and claim medalist honors by 11 strokes at the YSU Kickoff on Sept. 1. The junior matched the single-round school record of 64 that was set by Katlyn Shutt (2017-21) at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational on Sept. 4, 2018. Prajunpanich carded 11 pars, six birdies and an eagle on the par-five No. 7 on Mill Creek’s North Course during her historic round.
With two individual victories in the first two tournaments of the 2025-26 season, Prajunpanich has matched the school record of eight career tournament wins. She joins Emily Dixon (2014-16) as just the second player in program history to earn eight tournament wins as a Penguin.
Prajunpanich earned her third straight top five finish to begin the 2025-26 season as she finished tied for third with a three-round total of 220 (75-73-72) at the Total Athlete Collegiate. The junior finished fourth at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational with a two-round score of 147 (76-71). Prajunpanich finished tied for 11th at Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish Classic with a two-round 155 (75-80) before closing the fall season with a three-round 218 (73-68-77) to finish tied for third at Delaware’s Lady Blue Hen Invitational.

Additional Returning Firepower


In addition to Prajunpanich, Youngstown State welcomed back three additional players who garnered All-Horizon League honors in 2024-25. Last season, Valentina Peña Anaya was selected as the Horizon League Women’s Golf Freshman of the Year, and she was joined on the All-Horizon League Second Team by fellow newcomers Sofia Perez Escarcena and Maddi Shoults.
Shoults, a transfer and former NAIA All-American at Ottawa University Arizona, has continued to make a major impact during her second season as a Penguin. The senior finished in the top 25 on the individual leaderboard in each of the six events YSU played during the fall portion of the 2025-26 season.
Shoults finished atop the individual leaderboard at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational with a two-round score of 141 (69-72), which is tied for the fourth-lowest individual 36-hole score in program history. The senior grabbed a one-shot lead following a season-low, three-under-par 69 in the first round of play. The Circleville, Ohio, native carded an even-par 72 in the second and final round to become the third different Penguin to claim an individual tournament title during the fall campaign.
Shoults placed third at even par with a two-round score of 144 (76-68) at Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish Classic. The senior matched her career low round with a four-under-par 68 in the second session that featured 10 pars and six birdies. Shoults also finished as the individual runner-up at the YSU Kickoff with a single-round score of 75.
Perez Escarcena earned four top 10 finishes while posting a career-low round of 68 during the fall season. The sophomore finished atop the individual leaderboard at the Total Athlete Collegiate with a three-round score of 216 (76-68-72) to collect her first career individual win. The sophomore’s career-low, four-under-par 68 in the second round featured nine pars, five birdies and an eagle on the par-five No. 15 as she fired a three-under-par 33 on the back nine.
Perez Escarcena finished one shot back as the individual runner-up with a two-round total of 142 (70-72) at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational, and she finished tied for fourth at Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish Classic with a two-round 150 (78-72).
Peña Anaya posted three top 25 performances while recording a career-low round of 69 this past fall. The sophomore placed third at the Roseann Schwartz Invitational with a two-round score of 144 (75-69), and she finished third at the YSU Kickoff with a single-round score of 76.

Experienced Gained


Youngstown State’s 2025-26 roster also features three additional underclassmen who gained valuable experience during the fall season. Maureen Burns, Bella Saur and Matilyn Zines each competed in at least three events during the fall slate with Burns and Zines seeing the first action of their collegiate careers.
Saur competed in five tournaments and 10 rounds this past fall after participating in a total of six tournaments and 13 rounds as a freshman in 2024-25. The sophomore finished tied for 19th at the Total Athlete Collegiate with a three-round total of 229 (76-74-79). Saur matched her career low with a two-over-par 74 in the second round that featured 12 pars and a pair of birdies.
Burns competed in four tournaments and eight rounds this past fall with a low round of 74 after redshirting in 2024-25. Zines, who also redshirted last season, participated in three tournaments and five rounds with a low round of 76 during the fall portion of the 2025-26 season.

Penguins Picked First in Horizon League Preseason Poll


Youngstown State was picked first in the 2026 Under Armour Horizon League Women’s Golf Preseason Poll after a vote of the league’s head coaches. The Penguins received a total of 47 points and five of a possible seven first-place votes.
Oakland was picked second with two first-place votes and 43 points while Purdue Fort Wayne received 35 points to be tabbed third. Green Bay garnered 26 points to come in fourth while IU Indy and Northern Kentucky each tied for fifth with 18 points. Detroit Mercy received nine points to be slotted seventh in the poll.
The Penguins have returned four All-Horizon League picks from last season’s team that finished as the runner-up at the 2025 Horizon League Championships.

For the latest news and updates throughout the spring season, follow @YSUWomensGolf on X and Instagram.