Penn State’s seniors were not going to go down without a
fight in the final Nittany Lion Invitational of their careers in Happy Valley.
Trailing 2016 national champion Washington by 11 shots with five
holes to play, Penn State went on a birdie binge that enabled it to tie the
Huskies at even-par 864. The tiebreaker was the best score in Sunday’s final
round by a team’s throw-out fifth player and the 76 posted by the Nittany
Lions’ Ashni Dhruva, a junior from Katy, Texas, was one shot better than the 77
recorded by Washington’s Rina Sasaki, a sophomore from Japan, giving Penn State
the title.
Senior Lauren Waller, the runnerup in the 2014 PIAA Class
AAA Championship as a senior at Canon-McMIllan, was the real spark in the late
surge by the Nittany Lions. Waller birdied four of her last six holes on her
way to career-best 5-under-par 67 that enabled her to finish alone in fifth
place in the individual standings at 1-under 215 over the 6,322-yard, par-72
Blue Course at Penn State.
Senior Cara Basso, the Villa Maria Academy product who
represented Penn State as an individual competitor in the NCAA Madison Regional
last spring, birdied 17 and 18 to post a final round of 2-under 70. That
enabled her to finish tied for second in the individual standings at 3-under
213.
Junior Megan McLean, a Voorhees High product, had five
birdies in her last eight holes as she also carded a 2-under 70, which enabled
her to finish in the group tied for seventh at 2-over 218 that included senior
Jackie Rogowicz, a two-time District One champion at Pennsbury.
Rogowicz, Waller and Basso have been in Penn State’s
starting lineup, with very few exceptions, since Day 1 for them at Penn State.
Rogowicz, who qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur for a second time this
summer, had a typically steady even-par 72 to join McLean in the group tied for
seventh.
It all added up to an 9-under 279 in the final round for
Penn State that enabled it to catch Washington, which carried a four-shot lead
into the final round and posted a solid 5-under 283.
Penn State’s Big 10 rival Rutgers finished third, the Scarlet
Knights carding a 4-over 292 in the final
round to finish 15 shots behind the top two at 15-over 879. Seton Hall,
out of the Big East, had a final round of 2-over 290 to finish fourth at
21-over 885.
It was another nine shots back to the Big East’s Xavier and
Navy, which shared fifth place at 30-over 894. Xavier closed with a 2-over 2909
and Navy posted a 5-over 293.
Ivy League entrant Penn carded a 309 in the final round for
a 918 total that left the Quakers tied for eighth with reigning Big East
champion Georgetown.
As surprising as the late surge to the team title was by
Penn State, there was an even bigger surprise for head coach Denise St. Pierre.
Entered as an individual, Sarah Willis, a freshman from Eaton, Ohio, smashed
the tournament record and Penn State’s record for a 54-hole tournament by
taking the individual title by eight shots.
It was probably a little unexpected that Willis had grabbed a
three-shot lead with a 4-under 68 and a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s double round.
In case anyone thought that was a fluke, Willis birdied her first five holes in
Sunday’s final round on her way to a 5-under 67 that gave her an 11-under 205 total.
St. Pierre got pretty strong performances from the other
three players who competed as individuals for the host Nittany Lions this weekend.
Junior Madelein Herr, the former Council Rock North
standout, and sophomore Olivia Zambruno, the 2016 PIAA Class AA champion as a senior
at Greensburg Central Catholic, finished among the group tied for 23rd
at 224. Herr finished up with her second straight 2-over 74 while Zambruno
carded a 76 in Sunday’s final round.
Kamerine Taylor, a senior from Dublin, Ohio, finished in the
group tied for 33rd at 227 after a final round of 2-over 74.
St. Pierre has the best-case scenario for a college golf
coach. The competition is going to be so fierce just to make the first five
that everybody is going to get better. The Nittany Lions desperately want to
get themselves in the mix for an NCAA regional berth next spring. It suddenly
seems quite possible.
It was a quality Washington team that came east from Seattle
this weekend. Three of the Huskies who were key contributors as freshmen to
their stunning NCAA championship run two springs ago at Portland Country Club
made the trip, two of them in the starting lineup.
The Huskies were led by Alice Duan, a junior from Reno, Nev.
who fired a sparkling 4-under 68 in Sunday’s final round to finish alone in
fourth in the individual standings at 2-under 214.
Sarah Rhee, a senior home girl from Seattle and one of those
fabulous freshmen in 2016, matched par in the final round to join the group
tied for seventh at 2-over 218. Another of those precocious freshmen from 2016,
Wenyung Keh, a senior from New Zealand, posted a 1-under 71 Sunday to join the
group tied for 12th at 3-over 219.
Karen Miyamato, a junior from Japan, made it five Huskies
inside the top 15 as she also matched par in the final round with a 72 to
finish alone in 14th at 4-over 220. Sasaki had that final-round 77
that ended up being part of the tiebreaker scenario, but she played well,
ending up in the group tied for 23rd at 224.
Sharing runnerup honors with Penn State’s Basso behind the
remarkable Willis was Rutgers’ Maeve Rossi, a freshman from Italy who matched
par in the final round with a 72 to end up at 3-under 213.
Lizzie Win, a junior from Sylvania, Ohio, led the way for
Seton Hall as she finished alone in sixth, a shot behind Penn State’s Waller at
even-par 216 after her second straight 2-under 70.
Backing up Win for the Pirates was sophomore Mia Kness, the
2016 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Peters Township. Kness carded a
2-over 74 in the final round to end up among the group tied for 23rd
at 224.
Junior Sammie Staudt, a former Coatesville standout,
struggled to an 82 in the final round and finished in the group tied for 55th
at 232 for Seton Hall.
Christina Park, a junior from San Diego, led a young Penn
team as she carded a 3-over 75 in the final round to end up in the group tied
for 33rd at 227.
Mary Shin, a freshman from Irvine, Calif., and Rina Jung, a
sophomore from Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., both struggled in the final round, each
posting an 82. That left Shin in the group tied for 45th at 230 while
Jung ended up in the group tied for 57th at 233.
Lelia Dizon, a freshman from Los Angeles, also ended up in
the group tied for 57th at 233 after a solid 3-over 75 in the final
round.
Freshman Olivia Traynor, the 2015 Inter-Ac League champion
as a freshman at Notre Dame who was making her college debut, had her best
round of the weekend, a 5-over 77, to finish among the group tied for 72nd
at 239.
It was a pretty solid showing for Georgetown junior Kate
Evanko, a former Unionville standout who qualified for a spot in the 2016 U.S.
Women’s Amateur at Rolling Green Golf Club. Evanko finished up with a 1-over 73
to end up in the group tied for 33rd at 227. She had opened with a
2-over 74 before falling back a little with an 80 in the second half of
Saturday’s double round.
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