Host Florida makes it five straight team titles in VyStar Gators Invitational; Penn State finishes in a tie for fourth

   Southeastern Conference power Florida took a hit when Sierra Brooks, the runnerup to Maria Fassi in the individual chase in last spring’s NCAA Championship at The Blessings in Fayetteville, Ark., left the program over the midseason break to pursue her professional dreams on the Symetra Tour.

  But the Gators got a pretty good replacement when Annabell Fuller, who played for Great Britain & Ireland as a 16-year-old in the 2018 Curtis Cup Match at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y., joined the program in January.

   Fuller of England had become something of an adopted Floridian, having spent the last couple of winters at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. Fuller finished in a tie for third in the 2019 Harder Hall Women’s Invitational, one of the stops on the unofficial Orange Blossom Tour series of events each winter in Sebring, Fla.

   The Gators’ senior leader, Marta Perez of Spain lost in a playoff to Central Florida’s Tunrada Piddon, a freshman from Thailand, for the individual title, but, for the fifth straight year, host Florida, No. 9 in the latest Golfstat rankings, dominated the VyStar Gators Invitational, taking the team crown by 18 shots over runnerup Virginia Tech, ranked 26^th, at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla.

   Florida built a four-shot lead during Saturday’s double-round, opening with a 4-over-par 284 over the 6,002-yard, par-70 Mark Bostick layout and adding a 6-over 286 in the afternoon. The Gators closed by matching par in Sunday’s final round with a 280 for a 10-over 850 total.

   Florida reached the NCAA Championship at The Blessings and, behind Brooks, finished four frustrating shots short of a berth in match play, ending up 10^th in the stroke-play qualifying.

   Virginia Tech, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, had surged into contention on the strength of the best team round of the tournament, a 2-under 278 in Saturday afternoon’s second round. The Hokies struggled in the final round with a 294, but held on for second place with a 28-over 868 total.

   Virginia Tech was seeded 12^th in the NCAA Norman Regional last spring, but failed to advance to The Blessings.

   No. 44 Michigan, out of the Big Ten, closed with a 6-over 286 to finish a shot behind Virginia Tech in third place at 29-over 869.

   It was an encouraging performance for another Big Ten entry, No. 81 Penn State, as the Nittany Lions finished with their best round of the weekend, a 9-over 289, and shared fourth place in the 12-team field with UCF. Penn State shaved six shots off its opening-round 298 with a 292 in Saturday afternoon’s second round.

   UCF, behind Piddon, the individual champion, opened with a solid 8-over 288 and added a 296 before closing with a 295 to match Penn State’s 879 total.

   Perez matched the low round of the weekend, making five birdies in a sparkling 3-under 67 in Sunday’s final round to catch Piddon at 2-over 212 before falling in the playoff.

   Fuller backed up Perez, finishing among three players tied for third place at 3-over 213, a shot behind the top two. Fuller opened with a 1-under 69 and added a 3-over 73 Saturday afternoon before closing with a solid 1-over 71.

   Teammate Clara Manzalini, a sophomore from Italy, was another shot behind Fuller, finishing alone in sixth place at 4-over 214.

   Junior Addie Baggarly, a junior from Jonesborough, Tenn., gave the Gators a fourth player inside the top seven in the individual standings as she was another three shots behind Manzalini among a group of four players tied for seventh place at 7-over 217. Baggarly bounced back from an opening-round 77 with a 1-under 69 Saturday afternoon before closing with a 1-over 71.

   Rounding out the Florida lineup was Marino Escobar Domingo, a freshman from Spain who finished among the group tied for 14^th place at 9-over 219. Escobar Domingo opened with a counting 1-over 71 and added a 3-over 73 Saturday before finishing up with a 75.

   Piddon emerged from Saturday’s double-round with a two-shot led as she opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 1-over 71 in the afternoon round. She couldn’t quite hold off Perez with a final-round 73 that left her at 2-over 212, but prevailed in the playoff to claim her second individual title of the wraparound 2019-2020 season.

   Joining Florida’s Fuller in the tie for third place at 3-over 213 were Michigan’s Ashley Kim, a junior from Redondo Beach, Calif., and Virginia Tech’s Jessica Spicer, a senior from Bahama, N.C. Kim closed with a solid  2-under 68 to get it to 3-over while Spicer matched the low round of the weekend with her 3-under 67 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Joining Florida’s Baggarly in the quintet tied for seventh place at 7-over 217 were Penn State’s Mathilde Delvallade, a freshman from France, and a pair of Michigan players, Ashley Lau, a sophomore from Malaysia, and Hailey Borja, a freshman from Lake Forest, Mich.

   Delavallade was in a tie for second in the individual chase, two shots behind Piddon, following Saturday’s double-round as she added a 2-under 68 to her opening-round 73 to stand at 1-over 141. Delavallade backed off in the final round with a 76.

   Lau kept getting better all weekend, adding a 72 to her opening-round 74 before closing with a solid 1-over 71. After opening with a 74, Borja fired a 1-under 69 Saturday afternoon before closing with another 74.

   Penn State’s best two rounds in Sunday’s windup came from its two seniors, Megan McLean, a Voorhees High product, and Madelein Herr, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Council Rock North.

   McLean matched par in the final round with a 70 to finish in the group tied for 11^th place at 8-over 218 and Herr carded a solid 1-over 71 to end up among the group tied for 23^rd place at 224.

   In between those two for the Nittany Lions was Sarah Willis, a sophomore from Eaton, Ohio who closed with her best round of the weekend, a 2-over 72, to finish in a tie for 19^th place at 10-over 220.

Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Isha Dhruva, a freshman from Katy, Texas who sandwiched a 5-over 75 in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 78s to land among the group tied for 47^th place at 231.

   Penn State head coach Denise St. Pierre brought along junior Olivia Zambruno, the 2016 PIAA Class AA champion as a senior at Greensburg Central Catholic, to compete as an individual. Zambruno couldn’t figure out the Mark Bostick layout, though, closing with an 80 that left her among the group tied for 63^rd place at 239.

   With a ranking in the 80s, Penn State might have too much to do to get a shot at an NCAA regional bid later this spring. But, for the youngsters who teed it up this weekend in Gainesville, this was an experience to build on.