2013-2014 (SENIOR): Played in seven of the team’s 10 events and finished with a stroke average of 78.47…was in the lineup for all four fall events and carded a stroke average of 78.09…earned a top-10 finish in the first event of the year, tying for seventh at the Hobble Creek Invitational in Springville, Utah…carded rounds of 72-78-71 to help USF to the team title…tied for 33rd at the rain-shortened Rose City Collegiate held outside of Portland…turned in rounds of 80 and 76 to finish at 156 (+12)…finished 62nd at the Edean Ihalanfeldt Invitational at Sahalee Country Club in Redmond, Wash. after rounds of 81-84-83 (248)…wrapped up the fall slate by tying for 41st at the Wyoming Cowgirl Invitational after rounds of 71-77-79 (227)…played in three of the six spring events…tied for 60th at the Peg Barnard Invitational at Stanford (80-77-157)…finished at 239 (+23) and tied for 55th at the UC Irvine Invitational…played as an individual at the Fresno State Classic where she tied for 26th at 236 (79-80-77).
2012-2013 (JUNIOR): Played in eight of the nine tournaments on the year, missing the Rose City Intercollegiate…finished with the team’s second-lowest stroke average at 78.13…second on the team in birdies with 41…opened the season by tying for 21st at the Oregon State Invitational after rounds of 74-75-76 for a 9-over score of 225…t-50th at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational with a 25-over score of 241 (78-82-81)…closed out the fall by tying for 21st at the Wyoming Cowgirl Invitational in Palm Desert after rounds of 78-75-75 for a 12-over 228…finished 63rd at the 36-hole Peg Barnard Invitational at Stanford with a 21-over score of 163 (84-79)…t-45th at the Cal Classic held at Ruby Hills in Livermore with a 15-over score of 159 (79-80)…opened with a 73 at the Juli Inkster Invitational in San Jose before finishing t-53rd at 238 (+22) after closing with rounds of 79-86…t-28th at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in Honolulu with a 16-over score of 232 on rounds of 74-75-73…enjoyed her best tournament of the season at the WCC Championships in Bremerton, Wash….tied for 10th with a 17-over score of 233…opened with a 82 but finished with rounds of 73 and 78.
2011-2012 (SOPHOMORE): Played in all 11 events and finished with a stroke average of 77.95, the second-lowest mark on the team…posted five top-25 finishes, including a win at the Wolf Pack Classic in Dayton, NV….posted rounds of 73-70 and then defeated Alex Buelow of Stetson on the fourth playoff hole to capture medalist honors…finished 10th at the Wyoming Cowgirl Invitational and Rose City Intercollegiate…carded a stroke average of 77.95 in seven spring events...finished 20th at the WCC Championships.
2010-2011 (FRESHMAN): Competed in eight events…made a hole-in-one in the second round of her first collegiate event at the Circling Raven Collegiate Invitational on the par-3 145-yard third hole…also made an ace on the No. 8 hole at the Meadow Club in a qualifying round…lowest round was a 75 in the first round of the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational…her lowest 54-hole tournament score was 233 at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate.
HIGH SCHOOL AND AMATEUR CAREER: Graduated from Tapiola High School, located on the south coast of her native Finland…was a member of Finland’s Ladies’ National Team…was Finland’s top player in the 2009 European Championships in Slovenia, carding a 3-over score of 149 (76-73).
PERSONAL: Parents are Reima and Hannele Leivo-Kaija…father played professional hockey and mother was a competitive speed skater…speaks Finnish, English, Spanish, Swedish and Italian…interested in golf architecture.
HUARTE ON KAIJA:Â "We are excited to welcome Peppiina to the USF women's golf program," Huarte said. "Peppiina has enjoyed success at the national and international level and should be able to make a positive impact on our team right away. I look forward to working with her during the next four years."
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