MUSCLE SHOALS – Valentina Giraldo learned on Wednesday that her junior season hasn't ended just yet.
 
The native of Ibague, Colombia, became the first female golfer in Jacksonville State history to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships as an individual when the field was released on Wednesday afternoon. She is one of six individuals that were selected to compete in the Tallahassee Regional on the Seminole Golf Course.
 
The honor comes on the heels of the most decorated season by a female golfer in JSU history. She won six times in 2017-18, tying six others for the fourth-most wins in a season in NCAA history. Her sixth win came at the OVC Women's Golf Championship earlier this month and broke the OVC record of five.
 
She was named the OVC Golfer of the Year for her dominant season, the sixth Gamecock to win the OVC Golfer of the Year Award and the first since Melania Bajo Geijo in 2016. She is the first JSU player to win medalist honors at the OVC Tournament since Ornella Arrizon in 2012 and the fourth Gamecock to win since joining the league in 2003-04.
 
She also concluded the regular season by leading the league with a 72.5 stroke average that also breaks her own school record of 74.06 that she set last season.