EUREKA, Mo. – With an eighth place finish in stroke play on Thursday at the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships, the Cal State East Bay women's golf team earned a spot to compete for a national championship by advancing to Friday's first round of medal match play at Fox Run Golf Club.
 
The Pioneers had their best single round for team scoring in the tournament at +31 293 (overall team score of 895), which elevated them on the team leaderboard into eighth place after entering Thursday's action in ninth position. All five golfers for the Pioneers combined for 12 birdies in the round.
 
Julika Grosspietsch climbed the individual leaderboard into an eighth place tie to finish stroke play in the tournament with a final score of 2-over-par 218 (73-74-71). As a top-10 finisher, Grosspietsch was awarded hardware following the round. Among the 54 holes played between Tuesday and Thursday, Grosspietsch had 11 birdies.
 
In addition to Grosspietsch, other members of Cal State East Bay contributed to the team's success.
 
On Thursday, Arrianna Custodio shot 3-under-par 69, which was her lowest single round score of the season. She finished with five birdies. Three of the birdies came at a critical moment in the round, which were made consecutively between holes 15 through 17 lowering her score and the team score at a very opportune moment.
 
Other notable stats for the Pioneers include 35 even par holes throughout the tournament by Mandi Granato, six birdies from Drishti Karumbaya and a birdie in each round by Jasmin Krishna.
 
"Our women fought so hard this week!" stated Cal State East Bay head coach Alan Sue. "I am so proud of them. Today was an amazing performance under pressure. [Arrianna Custodio] and [Julika Grosspietsch] stepped up big today. Division II has over 160 women's golf teams and we are one of eight still competing which is quite an accomplishment. Tomorrow morning we face a tough opponent but I expect these ladies to bring it."
 
Dallas Baptist finished as the lowest scoring team in stroke play at 874, earning the top seed in match play, setting up a head-to-head match with the Pioneers on Friday morning.
 
Atop the leaderboard as the individual medalist winning the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship was Olivia Grønborg of Nova Southeastern with a final score of 6-under-par 210.
 
The No. 8 seed Pioneers begin match play Friday morning from Fox Run Golf Club against top-seeded DBU in the national quarterfinals. Tee time is set for 8 a.m. central (6 a.m. Pacific) from Hole #10. The winner of the quarterfinal match advances to the national semifinal, which is also scheduled for Friday approximately 45 minutes following the completion of all quarterfinal action.