COLUMBIA, Mo. (September 22, 2025) – The University of North Alabama women's golf team opened play at the Johnie Imes Invitational hosted by the University of Missouri at The Club at Old Hawthorne on Monday, sitting in a tie for 10th place after two rounds.
The Lions were guided by strong performances from sophomore Sirichaya Chanpen and true freshman Lisa Palmgren, who are both among the top 20 in a field of 81 golfers.
UNA started strong with Chanpen leading the charge early, sitting as high as fourth place just behind Power Four juggernauts Missouri, Kentucky and Cincinnati. The Lions were 14-over in the first round to settle into sixth, but ended up in 10th alongside Murray State after two rounds.
"We had two holes that cost us big time, but with a good round tomorrow, we could move up quite a bit," said UNA head coach Neil Self. "Kwan (Chanpen) and Lisa (Palmgren) both had really nice days."
Chanpen — commonly known as "Kwan" — is in 13th place after two rounds with a consistent card of 73-74 to sit three-over. The Thailand native started hot with a four-under card on her first 11 holes. Starting on the back-nine, she birdied the 17th hole and collected four more in the first round to reach as high as second place. She recorded two more birdies and nothing above a bogey in the second round.
Palmgren, who made just her second collegiate start on Monday, is in a tie for 18th at four-over with a 73-75 day. She notched seven birdies, including four in the second round. Three of her birdies came on a pair of par-three holes, including twice on Hole 12.
Junior Ava Schwartz and redshirt junior Kerigan Klauber are both 14-over through two rounds. Schwartz carded a pair of 79s with five birdies, while Klauber overcame a slow start early in the first round to finish 77-81. The final 14 holes of her first round saw her go two-under with three birdies and 10 pars.
Making her collegiate debut, ture freshman Kiersten Riggins shot 23-over, including a 79 in the first round. She notched her first career birdie on Hole 14 of the first round and added 20 pars over two rounds.
Statistically, UNA has the fifth-most birdies in the tournament with 24. Chanpen and Palmgren each have seven to rank 10th in that category.
Host school Missouri leads the field at -14, followed by fellow SEC member Kentucky in second at -3. Everyone else is above par, led in third by Wichita State at +13. Cincinnati and Missouri State are tied for fourth at +20, followed by Morehead State (+26) in sixth just nine strokes ahead of UNA.
The next group includes Howard (+28), South Dakota (+31), South Dakota State (+33), North Alabama and Murray State (+35), UAB (+36), Omaha (+38) and East Texas A&M (+56).
The final round commences tomorrow at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start. UNA will start on holes 11-13 and will be paired with Murray State and UAB.
To view the first day results, click here.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
