Herr two shots out of the lead, Penn State sits in sixth at Hurricane Invitational

   Penn State freshman Madelein Herr, a former Council Rock North standout, broke par in the second round of the Hurricane Invitational Tuesday to remain in the hunt for the individual title at The Biltmore, a classic Donald Ross design in Coral Gables, Fla.

   Herr, the District One Class AAA champion as a senior, carded a 1-under-par 71 over the 6,150-yard, par-72 Biltmore layout and is tied for fourth in the individual chase at 1-under 143, two shots out of the lead.

   Two of the three players tied at the top, Louisville’s Lauren Hartlage, a freshman from Elizabethtown, Ky, and Olivia Cason, a sophomore from Owensboro, Ky., have the Cardinals, No. 46 in the latest Golfstat rankings, holding on to the top spot in the team standings, three shots clear of defending champion Northwestern, ranked 16th.

   Hartlage, coming off a fourth-place finish at last week’s Central District Invitational in Port St. Lucie, Fla., continued her strong play, adding a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 71 to get a share of the top spot at 3-under 141. Cason matched par with a 72 to join her teammate at 141.

   The third member of the trio atop the leaderboard is Barry University’s Tilda Larsson, a sophomore from Sweden who also matched par with a 72 to get to 3-under. Larsson and the Buccaneers are the No. 2 team in the country in Division II.

   Hartlage and Cason led the Cardinals to an even-par 288 in the second round, giving them a 36-hole total of 2-under 574. Northwestern, the reigning Big Ten co-champion, also had an even-par 288 and is in second place at 1-over 577.

   No. 34 Michigan is another five shots back of its Big Ten rival in third as the Wolverines signed for a 292 and is at 6-over 582.

   It’s another six shots back to Barry, which is not backing off against tougher Division I competition, in fourth place. The Buccaneers posted a 292 and are at 12-over 588.

   Host Miami, the highest-ranked team in the field at No. 14, is fifth at 591 after a 301. Herr and No. 72 Penn State fell back from an opening-round 291 to also card a 301 and is in sixth place, a shot back of Miami at 16-over 592.

   In addition to Hartlage and Cason at the top of the leaderboard, the Cardinals also got 1-over 73s from Molly Skapik, a junior from Miamisburg, Ohio, and Louise Oxner, a senior from Greenville, S.C. Skapik, who matched par in the opening round with a 72, is tied for 13^th at 1-over 145 and Oxner, who bettered her opening-round 74 by a shot, is tied for 17^th at 3-over 147.

   It’s no surprise at all that it’s Northwestern breathing down Louisville’s neck. The Wildcats have three players in the top six, led by Stephanie Lau, a sophomore from Fullerton, Calif. who carded a second straight 71 and is tied for fourth at 2-under 142.

   Two other Wildcats, Hannah Kim, a junior from Chula Vista, Calif., and Janet Mao, a sophomore from Johns Creek, Ga., are in the group with Penn State’s Herr tied for sixth at 1-under 143. Kim, the defending individual champion at the Hurricane, fell back from her opening-round 69 with a 74 while Mao reversed those numbers, carding a 69 Tuesday after opening with a 74. Mao’s 69 was one of just two sub-70 rounds recorded in the second round.

   Also in the tie for fourth at 2-under 142 with Northwestern’s Lau is Michigan’s Emily White, a junior from Saline, Mich. who added an even-par 72 to her opening-round 70.

   Also for Penn State, sophomore Cara Basso, the 2012 PIAA Class AA champion as a sophomore at Villa Maria Academy, is tied for 22^nd at 4-over 148 after a 75 and sophomore Lauren Waller, the runnerup to Radnor’s Brynn Walker at the 2014 PIAA Class AAA Tournament as a senior at Canon McMillan, is tied for 33^rd a shot back of Basso at 5-over 149 after a 76.

   Kate Granahan, a graduate student who was a Parkland standout, had a 79 and is tied for 50^th at 152. Sophomore Jackie Rogowicz, a two-time District One champion at Pennsbury, still hasn’t figured out the Biltmore layout as she added an 80 to her opening-round 81 and is tied for 79^th at 161.

   Ashni Dhruva, a freshman from Katy, Texas who is competing as an individual for the Nittany Lions, is having a solid tournament. She added a 76 to her opening-round 75 and is tied for 43^rd at 151.

Herr, Penn State fifth at Hurricane; DiLisio finishes in tie for third at Westbrook

   Penn State got off to a solid start behind freshman Madelein Herr, the former Council Rock North standout, in the Hurricane Invitational at The Biltmore in Coral Gables, Fla. Monday while, across the country in the Arizona desert, Notre Dame sophomore Isabella DiLisio, the 2013 PIAA Class AAA champion at Mount St. Joseph, couldn’t hold on to the lead, but finished tied for third at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz.

   Herr, who claimed a District One Class AAA title as a senior at Council Rock North, had four birdies on her way to an even-par 72 over the 6,150-yard, par-72 Donald Ross classic design at The Biltmore that has her tied for 12^th in the individual standings.

   Herr helped Denise St. Pierre’s Nittany Lions, No. 72 in the latest Golfstat rankings, to fifth place in the team standings at 3-over 291, just five shots back of leader Louisville. The No. 46 Cardinals, coming off a solid third-place finish at last week’s Central District Invitational in Port St. Lucie, Fla., carded a 2-under 286 to take the lead after the opening round of the 54-hole event.

   Defending champion Northwestern, ranked 16^th, is in second place after the reigning Big Ten co-champions posted a 1-over 289. Host Miami, the highest-ranked team in the field at No. 14, and No. 34 Michigan are tied for third at 2-over 290 with Penn State another shot back in fifth at 291.

   Penn State got a trio of 1-over 73s to back up Herr’s even-par effort. Sophomore Lauren Waller, who lost to Radnor’s Brynn Walker in a playoff at the 2014 PIAA Class AAA Tournament as a senior at Canon McMillan, sophomore Cara Basso, who won the 2012 PIAA Class AA title as a sophomore at Villa Maria Academy, and Kate Granahan, a graduate student who starred scholastically at Parkland, are all in the group tied for 20^th.

   It was a disappointing start for sophomore Jackie Rogowicz, a two-time District One champion at Pennsbury, as she is tied for 81^st with an 81. Ashni Dhruva, a freshman from Katy, Texas, competed as an individual for Penn State and is tied for 34^th after a solid 75.

   Rogowicz and Herr represented the Penn State program at last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Rolling Green Golf Club. Rogowicz came up short of a spot in match play when she lost out in a nine-player playoff for the final five spots.

   Louisville was led by Olivia Cason, a sophomore from Owensboro, Ky. who is one of three players tied for first in the individual chase after carding a 3-under 69. Lauren Hartlage, a freshman from Elizabethtown, Ky. who is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Central District Invitational, continued her strong play with a 1-under 71 that has her tied for seventh.

   Also counting for the Cardinals were Molly Skapik, a junior from Miamisburg, Ohio who is in the group tied for 12^th at even-par 72, and Louise Oxner, a senior from Greenville, S.C. who is tied for 26^th after a 2-over 74.

   Northwestern’s Hannah Kim, a junior from Chula Vista, Calif., is in the group tied for first at 3-under 69 as she tries to repeat as the individual champion. The third member of the leading trio is Barry’s Tilda Larsson, a sophomore from Sweden. Larsson and the Buccaneers are the No. 2-ranked team in Division II.

   Three players are tied for fourth at 2-under 70, including Florida International’s Camila Serrano, a senior from  Colombia, South Florida’s Nicole Autrique, a senior from Mexico, and Michigan’s Emily White, a junior from Saline, Mich.

   Meanwhile at the Westbrook Spring Invitational, DiLisio saw her three-shot lead disappear in the battle for the individual title as she carded a 1-over 73 over the 6,269-yard, par-72 Vistas Course at Westbrook Village Golf Club to finish tied for third at 5-under 211. DiLisio had opened the Westbrook with rounds of 68 and 70 in Sunday’s double round for a 6-under 138 total.

   Nebraska’s Audrey Judd, a junior from Olathe, Kan., fired a 4-under 68 to surge past DiLisio to the individual title with a 7-under 209 total.

   Kansas State’s Connie Jaffrey, a junior from Scotland, fired a 5-under 67 to grab runnerup honors at 6-under 210 and lead the No. 47 Wildcats to the team title.

   Illinois’ Tristyn Nowlin, a freshman from Richmond, Ky., got a share of third with DiLisio as she carded a final-round 69 to join DiLisio at 5-under 211.

   Jaffrey led Kansas State to a final round of 5-under 283 that gave the Wildcats the team crown with a 3-under 861 total. The Wildcats’ cross-state rival Kansas, ranked 105^th, and No. 28 Ohio State, the reigning Big Ten co-champion, finished tied for second, four shots back of Kansas State at 1-over 865. The Jayhawks, who held a narrow two-shot edge over Kansas State after Sunday’s double round, had a final-round 289. The Buckeyes matched Kansas State’s final-round 283 to grab its share of second.

   Two more Big Ten entrants, No. 29 Illinois and No. 71 Iowa, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. The Illini had a final-round 291 to finish at 7-over 871 and the Hawkeyes had a final-round 287 to finish at 9-over 873.

   Host Wisconsin, ranked 38^th, finished seventh at 877 after a final-round 286. DiLisio and the No. 66 Fighting Irish struggled with a 297 Monday to share ninth place with No. 58 Washington State, which posted a 5-under 283 in the final round.

   Kansas State had a second player in the top 10 as Madison Talley, a senior from Clarkesville, Ark., finished in a tie for 10^th at 1-under 215. But in a classic example of how team golf works, the Wildcats were able to toss Talley’s final-round 74 because three other players matched par at 72.

   Tash Carlsson, a freshman from South Africa, finished tied for 21^st at 2-over 218 with her 72, Katherine Gravel-Coursol, a senior from Canada, matched par to finish tied for 31^st at 5-over 221 and Paige Nelson, a senior from Branch Texas, used her final-round 72 to finish tied for 37^th at 6-over 222.

DiLisio grabs three-shot lead after two rounds of Westbrook Spring Invitational

   Isabella DiLisio, who won the 2013 PIAA Class AAA title as a junior at Mount St. Joseph, burst onto the college scene as a freshman at Notre Dame with several strong showings in the fall of 2015.

   She faded a little in the spring portion of her freshman season and there was an inkling of some back issues.

   Well, DiLisio appeared to be feeling pretty good during a double round Sunday at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz. as she made 10 birdies in 36 holes to grab the individual lead by three shots.

   DiLisio had seven birdies in an opening round of 4-under 68 over the 6,269-yard, par-72 Vistas Course at Westbrook Village Golf Club. She cooled off only slightly in the second round with three more birdies in a 2-under 70 for a 36-hole total of 6-under 138. The tournament concludes with 18 holes today.

   Kansas, No. 105 in the latest Golfstat rankings, grabbed the team lead after two rounds. The Jayhawks fired an opening round of 8-under 280 and followed it up with an 8-over 296 for an even-par 576 total. That left them two shots ahead of cross-state rival Kansas State, ranked 47^th, which had rounds of 290 and 288 for a 2-over 578 total.

   A couple of Big Ten powers, No. 29 Illinois and No. 28 Ohio State, are third and fourth, respectively. The Illini are four back of Kansas at 4-over 580 after rounds of 288 and 292. The Buckeyes, reigning Big Ten co-champions, are another two shots behind Illinois at 6-over 582 after rounds of 295 and a 1-under 287, the best team score of the afternoon round.

   No. 67 New Mexico State rounds out the  top five at 9-over 585 after rounds of 286 and 299.

DiLisio and the No. 66 Irish are in seventh place at 11-over 587 after rounds of 292 and 295. Host Wisconsin, ranked 38^th, is tied for eighth with No. 63 Oregon State at 15-over 591.

   Kansas was led by Chomchana Phuchanbanchob, a sophomore from Thailand who is one of four players tied for second, three shots behind DiLisio at 3-under 141. Phuchanbanchob, making her debut with the Jayhawks, matched DiLisio’s opening-round 68 and came back with a 1-over 73 in the afternoon.

   Also for the Jayhawks, Ariadna Fonseca Diaz, a sophomore from Venezuela, is tied for 11^th at even-par 144 after a second-round 69. Victoria Chandra, a sophomore from Bali, had the low round of the morning, a 5-under 67 that was matched by New Mexico State’s Kristen Cline,  a senior from Socorro, N.M. Chandra slipped to a 79 in the afternoon and is tied for 18^th at 2-over 146.

   Yi-Tsen Chou, a freshman from Taiwan, is tied for 47^th at 7-over 151. She opened with a sparkling 2-under 70. Pitsinee Winyarat, a junior from Thailand, picked up the team with an afternoon 75 and is tied for 63^rd at 155.

   Sharing second place with Phuchanbanchob at 3-under 141 are Wisconsin’s Gabby Curtis, a junior from Altoona, Wis. who was competing as an individual, Kansas State’s Madison Talley, a senior from Clarksville, Ark., and Nebraska’s Audrey Judd, a junior from Olathe, Kan. Curtis opened with a 69 and matched par in the afternoon with a 72, Talley had rounds of 71 and 70 and Judd, after opening with a 72, had one of just three sub-70 rounds in the afternoon with a 3-under 69.

   DiLisio’s fellow sophomore Emma Albrecht, of Ormond Beach, Fla., is tied for 27^th for the Irish at 3-over 147 after rounds of 73 and 74. Mia Ayer, a freshman from Waco, Texas, is tied for 41^st at 6-over 150 after a second-round 74. Jordan Ferreira, a senior from University Place, Wash., is tied for 50^th at 8-over 152. DiLisio’s former Mount St. Joe teammate Alison Snakard, a junior, is 71^st at 158. And competing as an individual for Notre Dame, Kari Belville, a junior from Granger, Ind., is tied for 75^th at 164.