University of South Alabama Athletics

FRESHMAN SEASON (2024-25)
• Was another instrumental piece in the helping the program make a dramatic
• Earned Second-Team all-Sun Belt Conference honors
• Averaged 73.30 strokes per round – the second lowest average by a freshman at South in program history
• Recorded  6 Top 10 finishes and finished inside the Top 20 in seven of her 10 events, six inside the Top 10, while also posting a pair of Top 5 finishes
• Recorded 63 birdies and an eagle during the season
• Majority of her time came at the No. 2 position where she competed in eight events• Recorded first tournament win at the Sea Best Intercollegiate where she fired a career-low 211
• Following the win, she was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week (2/6), becoming the first South Alabama women's golfer to earn the accolade since Nov. 11, 2022
• Posted 11 rounds at par or under, including five under par during the season
• Finished Ranked No. 3245 in the Clippd National Rankings
• Placed seventh at her first collegiate event – the Green Wave Invitational
• Tied for ninth with a one-under 212 at the 47th Annual FIU Pat Bradley Invitational
• Lowest round of the season – a 69 – came in the second round of Sea Best Intercollegiate
• Birdied her final two holes of the tournament to move into medalist honors as she sunk a 10-foot put on 17 and then drained a 20-foot put on 18 to close out her round
• Finished the tournament with a team-best 11 birdies over her three rounds of play
• Tied for eighth at the Momentum Transportation UNF Collegiate
• Placed fifth at the Pinetree Intercollegiate with a three-over 216
• Her 10th-place finish at the Sun Belt Conference Championship marked Aldana’s sixth Top 10 finish of the season

AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS
• Has recorded nine wins and 28 Top-10 finishes since 2022, and has been ranked as high as 314th in the USGA World Amateur Golf Rankings
• During the spring and summer prior to arriving at South Alabama, won both the Abierto del Centro, 73-69-78 (+4) and the 8va Fecha del Ranking Argentino de Aficionadas, 70-70 (-2)
• Also placed second at four other tournaments – El federal, 74-70 (E); Gran Premio Tortugas, 76-67-69 (-4); Terron Amateur, 72-64-77 (-3) and Torneo Ranking FGSL Menores y Juveniles, 70-73-74 (+1); and third at Copa Margarita M. de Maglione, 73-69 (-2)
• Ranked the No. 1 junior in Argentina, where she was a member of the national team competing in several South American team events, as well as the 2023 Andes cup
• Represented Argentina in the junior Orange Bowl and IMG Junior World Championships in 2023
• Defeated Maria Olivero 5/3 at the 36-hole final at the Argentine Women’s Amateur Match Play championships (2023) 
• Captured individual medalist honors at the 2023 Federal Open and the 2023 U18 National Championships
• Also won the first date of the 2022 AAG Junior Ranking at Sierra de Ventana Golf Club after firing a 141 (71-70)

PERSONAL
• Full name is Maria Mercedes Aldana
• Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Daughter of Sebastian Aldana and Maria Laura de Sautu
• Has two older brothers, Facundo and Juan Manuel
• Majoring in pre-business