Behind a program record-setting performance by senior Sammie
Staudt, a four-time PIAA qualifier at Coatesville, Seton Hall claimed a
seven-shot victory over host Princeton in the Princeton Invitational, which
wrapped up Sunday at Springdale Golf Club.
Staudt opened with a sparkling 4-under-par 68 in Saturday’s
opening round over the 6,121-yard, par-72 Springdale layout as the Pirates had
the only under-par team round of the tournament, a 5-under 283. Staudt then
closed with a 1-over 73 Sunday for a 3-under 141 total that earned her a share
of second place in the individual standings and helped Seton Hall finish with a
4-over 292.
The Pirates ended up with a 1-under 575 total, seven shots
clear of Princeton, which added a 2-over 290 to its opening round of 4-over 292
for a 6-over 582 total.
Staudt’s 141 total bettered the previous Seton Hall record
for a 36-hole tournament on a par-72 course by five shots. Staudt had just one
top-five finish in her career before this season, but her second straight top-five
finish to open her senior season has increased that total to three top-five
finishes.
Seton Hall also turned the tables on Penn, which had claimed
the title in last weekend’s Nittany Lion Invitational while the Pirates
finished third. Penn settled for third place at Princeton, the Quakers adding a
7-over 295 to their opening round of 3-over 291 for a 10-over 586 total.
Yale, behind individual champion Ami Gianchandani, a
sophomore out of The Pingry School, was two shots behind Ivy League rival Penn
at 12-over 588 after posting a second straight 6-over 294.
It was 15 shots back to Rollins College in fifth place at
27-over 603 as the Tars, after opening with a 297, posted a 306 in Sunday’s
final round. St. John’s, like Seton Hall a Big East representative, was five
shots behind Rollins in sixth place at 32-over 608. The Red Storm added a 303
to their opening-round 305.
The Ivy League had five teams among the top eight in the
13-team field as Dartmouth and Columbia finished in a tie for seventh place at
34-over 610. The Big Green, a runnerup to Harvard in last spring’s Ivy League
Championship, shaved two shots off their opening-round 306 with a final-round
304. The Lions, after opening with a 301, posted a 309 in Sunday’s final round.
Seton Hall’s Sarah Fouratt, a sophomore from Santa Maria,
Calif., and Maddie Sager, a senior who was the 2015 PIAA Class AAA runnerup as
a senior at Owen J. Roberts, were two of the three individual co-champions in
last week’s Nittany Lion Invitational and continued their strong play.
Fouratt carded a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s second round after
matching par with a 72 in the opening round to finish alone in fourth place,
two shots behind her teammate Staudt. Sager contributed a 3-under 69 to Seton
Hall’s fast start in Saturday’s opening round before backing off a little with
a 4-over 76 in Sunday’s final round as she joined the group tied for eighth
place at 1-over 145. It was Sager’s eighth career top-10 finish.
Carolina Ronchel Salas, a senior from Spain, landed among
the group tied for 18th place at 5-over 149 after adding a 3-over 75
to her opening-round 74. Ronchel Salas had a share of the Seton Hall 36-hole
record on a par-72 course that Staudt broke with her 146 total at Springdale in
this event a year ago.
Rounding out the Seton Hall lineup was Lizzie Winn, a senior
from Sylvania, Ohio who finished among the group tied for 42nd place
at 10-over 154. After struggling to an opening-round 81, Winn, the individual
runnerup in the Big East Championship last spring, bounced back with a 1-over
73 that was a crucial counter for the Pirates.
Junior Mia Kness, the 2016 PIAA Class AAA champion as a
senior at Peters Township, competed as an individual and was solid, adding a
2-over 74 to her opening-round 75 to join her teammate Ronchel Salas in the
group tied for 18th place at 5-over 149.
Gianchandani opened with the best individual round of the
weekend, a 5-under 67, before adding a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s final round for a
6-under 138 total that gave her a three-shot victory.
Joining Staudt in the tie for second place at 3-under 141
was host Princeton’s Grace Ni, a freshman from Cypress, Texas who finished
strong with a 3-under 69 after matching par in the opening round with a 72.
Three players finished in a tie for fifth place at even-par
144 and one of them was a very familiar name to followers of the local high
school scene in the Philadelphia area, Dartmouth freshman Samantha Yao, a
two-time District One Class AAA champion at Conestoga.
Yao, competing as individual, opened with a 2-under 70 in
Saturday’s opening round before adding a 2-over 74 that featured a hole-in-one
at the 156-yard 11th hole at Springdale in Sunday’s final round.
Yao had made her college debut in the Dartmouth Invitational
in the starting lineup for the Big Green two weeks ago. She might very well
have worked her way back into the first five for Dartmouth with her top-five
finish this weekend at Princeton.
Joining Yao at even-par were Rollins’ Seher Atwal, a senior
from India, and Princeton’s Maya Walton, a senior from Austin, Texas. Atwal
added a 1-under 71 to her opening-round 73 while Walton, after opening with a
2-under 70, closed with a 2-over 74 in Sunday’s final round.
It was another strong showing for a young Penn team that was
led by Mary Shin, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif., and Susan Xiao, a freshman
from Canada, both of whom were in the group along with Seton Hall’s Sager tied
for eighth at 1-over 145.
Shin shaved five shots off her opening-round 75 with a
2-under 70 in Sunday’s final round. Xiao opened with a 1-under 71 before adding
a 2-over 74.
Lelia Dizon, a sophomore from Los Angeles, also opened with
a 1-under 71 before adding a 76 that left her in the group tied for 14th
place at 3-over 147. Christina Park, the Quakers’ veteran senior from San Diego,
gave them four players inside the top 18 as she added a 3-over 75 to her
opening-round 74 to finish among the group tied for 18th place at
5-over 149.
Rounding out the starting lineup for Penn was Abigail
Wiranatha, a freshman from West Covina, Calif. who finished among the group
tied for 47th place at 155. Wiranatha added a 4-over 76 to her
opening-round 79.
Penn also field a four-woman B team, which finished last in
the 13-team field. The Quakers’ B team was led by sophomore Olivia Traynor, who
captured the 2015 Inter-Ac League championship as a freshman at the Academy of
Notre Dame. Traynor opened with a 2-over 74 before adding a 79 as she finished
among the group tied for 35th place at 9-over 153.
Dartmouth’s team effort was led by Kristen Chen, a sophomore
from Thousand Oaks, Calif. who joined the group tied for 18th place
at 5-over 149 as she added a 2-over 74 to her opening-round 75. Angela Zhang, a
freshman from Canada, finished among the group tied for 23rd place
at 151 after adding a 75 to her opening-round 76.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Lees, a three-time winner of the
Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship who starred scholastically at Agnes
Irwin, improved by four shots from her opening-round 79 with a 3-over 75 Sunday
that left her in the group tied for 42nd at 10-over 154.
Lees had led the way for Dartmouth in its season-opening
Dartmouth Invitational two weeks ago as she finished in a tie for 11th
place on her home course at Hanover Country Club. The Big Green took fifth
place. Lees capped a solid freshman season at Dartmouth with a third-place
finish in the Ivy League Championship at The Ridge at Back Brook last spring.
Julianne Strauch, a junior from Advance, N.C., added an 80
to her opening-round 77 to finish in the group tied for 53rd at 157
for Dartmouth. Rounding out the Big Green lineup was Maddie Nelson, a senior
from Sammamish, Wash. who, after opening with a 78, posted a final-round 84
that left her alone in 73rd place at 162.
Freshman Esther Park, a Charter School of Wilmington
product, helped Georgetown finish ninth as she ended up in the group tied for
59th at 158 after adding an 82 to her opening-round 76. The Hoyas,
one of the Seton Hall’s chief rivals in the Big East, added a 308 to their
opening-round 303 for a 611 total.
Senior Kate Evanko, a former Unionville standout, competed
as an individual for Georgetown and finished among the group tied for 53rd
at 157 after adding an 80 to her opening-round 77.
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