Gooneratne's runnerup finish powers Delaware to the team title in Lady Blue Hen Invitational at Rehoboth Beach

 

   Getting strong showings from its trio of recent District One standouts, Delaware captured the title in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational, which wrapped up Oct. 19^th at Rehoboth Beach, Del., for the second year in a row.

   Delaware, in its first season as a member of Conference USA, was locked in a tight three-way battle for the team title following a double round Oct. 18^th with the Blue Hens in third place, three shots behind the leader, Harvard, and a shot behind Georgetown, which held down second.

   But Delaware matched par in the final round with a 288 total over the 6,169-yard, par-72 Rehoboth Beach layout to cruise to an eight-shot victory over the Hoyas, who play out of the Big East.

   Delaware opened with a 5-over 293 and added a 6-over 294 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round. The Blue Hens’ even-par effort in the final round, the low team round of the weekend, gave them an 11-over 875 total.

   Delaware was led by freshman Rhianna Gooneratne, the PIAA Class AAA champion as a junior at Plymouth-Whitemarsh in 2023 who earned runnerup honors in the individual standings with a 1-over 217 total.

   The weather was pretty nice last weekend, but Rehoboth Beach seemed to play tough in the opening round and Gooneratne struggled to a 5-over 77. But she bounced back with a sparkling 3-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round and closed with a 1-under 71.

   Rehoboth Beach played tough in the opening round for everybody not named Vanessa Zhang, a sophomore at Harvard from Canada who opened with a 5-under 67.

   Zhang, the Ivy League champion as a freshman last spring, matched par in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round with a 72 before closing with a 1-under 71 to roll to the individual title in the Lady Blue Hen with a 6-under 210 total, seven shots clear of Gooneratne, her closest pursuer.

   Zhang represented Harvard in the NCAA’s Columbus Regional last spring at The Ohio State University’s challenging Scarlet Course.

   Georgetown had posted a pair of 5-over 293s in the opening day’s double round. The Hoyas closed with a 9-over 297 which left them eight shots behind Delaware in second place with a 19-over 883 total.

   Georgetown was led by Sunny Wang, a freshman from Thousand Oaks, Calif. who finished in a tie for fifth place with Quinipiac’s Samantha Galantini, a junior from West Orange, N.J., as they landed on 3-over 219.

   Wang bounced back from an opening round of 5-over 77 with a pair of 1-under 71s in the final two rounds.

   Harvard, behind Zhang, finished four shots behind Georgetown in a tie for third place with Ivy League rival Dartmouth with a 23-over 887 total.

   The Crimson added a 4-over 291 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to their opening round of 5-over 293 to take a two-shot lead over Georgetown into the final round. Harvard struggled to a 303 in the final round.

   The Big Green bounced back from an opening-round 298 with a 5-over 293 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round. Dartmouth then closed with an 8-over 296 to join Harvard in the tie for third place.

   Youngstown State, a Horizon League representative, and Yale, another Ivy entry, finished in a tie for fifth place, each ending up with a 26-over 890 total.

   The Penguins added a 6-over 294 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round to their opening-round 296 before closing with a 300.

   Youngstown State was led by reigning Horizon League individual champion Neeranuch Prajunpanich, a junior from Thailand who finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings with Yale’s Lydia Portlock, a freshman from San Antonio, Texas, each ending up with a 2-over 218 total that left them a shot behind Delaware’s Gooneratne.

   Prajunpanich, who joined Harvard’s Zhang competing as an individual in last spring’s Columbus Regional, added a sparkling 4-under 68 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round to her opening round of 1-over 73 before closing with a 77.

   Yale bounced back from an opening-round 301 with a 5-over 293 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round before finishing up with a 296.

   Portlock matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 1-under 71 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round before closing with a 3-over 75.

   Penn, another Ivy League entry, finished in eighth place in the 12-team field as the Quakers tallied a 32-over 296 total. After opening with a 301, Penn posted an 8-over 296 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round before struggling to a 306 in the final round.

   The Quakers were led by Maggie Ni, a junior from Cypress, Texas who finished among a group of four players tied for seventh place in the individual standings with a 4-over 220 total. Ni added a solid 2-under 70 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round to her opening round of 1-over 73 before closing with a 77.

   Also in that group at 4-over was another of Delaware director of golf operations Patty Post’s District One all-stars, sophomore Kate Roberts, who starred at Phoenixville.

   Roberts spent her freshman year at Mountain West Conference power San Jose State, but came home to join the Blue Hens.

   The always steady Roberts got a little better with each round at Rehoboth Beach, adding a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round to her opening-round 76 before closing with a solid 2-under 70.

   Kate Roberts will be joined at Delaware next season by her younger sister Kayley, who just completed a senior season at Phoenixville which saw her roll to a nine-shot victory in the District One Class AAA Championship before earning a runnerup finish at this week’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State.

   Backing up Gooneratne and Kate Roberts for Delaware was yet another District One standout of recent vintage, junior Mary Grace Dunigan, who starred at Unionville.

   Dunigan matched par in the opening round at Rehoboth Beach with a 72 before adding a pair of 3-over 75s to finish among the group tied for 12^th place with a 6-over 222 total.

   In addition to Gooneratne’s individual state championship, the Roberts sisters and Dunigan each have a PIAA Class AAA team title to their credit, the Roberts sisters leading the way for the Phantoms in their run to the state crown in 2022 and Dunigan leading the Longhorns to a state team title in the pandemic year of 2020.

   Joining Dunigan in the group tied for 12^th place at 6-over was her teammate Hyunji Kim, a sophomore from England who matched par in the final round with a 72 to help Delaware nail down the team crown. Kim had opened with a 2-over 74 before adding a 76 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Anushka Stewart, a sophomore from South Brunswick, N.J. who finished among the group tied for 18^th place with a 7-over 223 total as the Blue Hens’ first five all were inside the top 20 in the individual standings.

   Stewart contributed a solid 1-under 71 for the Blue Hens in the opening round before adding a pair of 4-over 76s in the final two rounds.

   Post used the occasion of Delaware’s home tournament to have a couple of players compete as individuals.

   Junior Marissa Malosh, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at South Fayette, finished among a trio of players tied for 45^th place with a 231 total. Malosh recorded a pair of 4-over 76s in the opening day’s double round before closing with a 79.

   Rounding out the Delaware contingent was Victoria Ramirez, a freshman from Puerto Rico who finished in a tie for 63^rd place with a 245 total. After struggling to an 84 in the opening round, Ramirez added a 7-over 79 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 82.

   Quinpiac’s Galantin struggled to an opening-round 77, but matched par in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round with a 72 before closing with a 2-under 70 to join Georgetown’s Wang in the tie for fifth place at 3-over.

   Yale’s Mia Sessa, a senior from Augusta, Ga., gave the Bulldogs a second player inside the top seven as she joined Delaware’s Roberts and Penn’s Ni in the foursome tied for seventh place at 4-over.

   Sessa added a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round to her opening-round 76 before closing with a solid 2-under 70.

Rounding out the quartet tied for seventh place at 4-over was Wang’s Georgetown teammate, Mimi Burton, a junior from Austin, Texas who opened with a solid 1-under 71 and added a 3-over 75 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round before closing with 74.

   Backing up Ni for Penn was Adrienne Ahn-Upton, a freshman from Dallas, Texas who finished in the group tied for 21^st place with an 8-over 224 total. After opening with a 2-over 74, Ahn-Upton tallied a pair of 75s in the final two rounds.

   Mi Li, a freshman from Orlando, Fla, finished among the group tied for 26^th place for the Quakers with a 9-over 225 total as Li rattled off three consecutive 3-over 75s.

   Madeline Zang, a junior from Princeton, N.J., finished in a trio tied for 39^th place at 229 as she added a 5-over 77 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round to her opening-round 79 before closing with a solid 1-over 73.

   Rounding out the Penn lineup was Julie Shin, a senior from Brambleton, Va. who finished alone in 49^th place with a 234 total. Shin added a 3-over 75 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round to her opening-round 79 before closing with an 80.

   Penn’s Claire Lu, a sophomore from Edison, N.J., competed as an individual and made a case for a spot in the starting lineup as she finished among a trio of players tied for 18^th place at 7-over 223. After opening with a 3-over 75, Lu matched par in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round with a 72 before closing with a 76.

   Bridget O’Keefe, a senior from Palo Alto, Calif., competed as individual for Penn and finished in a trio tied for 42^nd place with a 230 total. O’Keefe opened with a solid 1-over 73 and added a 79 in the afternoon of the opening day’s double round before closing with a 78.