You won’t hear Penn State coach Denise St. Pierre
complaining about a second-place finish in a 14-team field, but she did admit a
victory in the Nittany Lion Invitational, which the hosts led after two rounds,
would have tasted a little sweeter.
Big Ten rival Maryland was just a little better in Sunday’s
final round as the Terrapins matched par, their 288 the day’s best round, as
they claimed a five-shot victory over Penn State with a 1-under-par 863 total.
Maryland grabbed the individual gold as Laura Van
Respaille, a freshman from France, also had the day’s best round, a 2-under 70
over the 6,341-yard, par-70 Blue Course, to finish at 4-under 212.
Two Penn State players, junior Cara Basso, the former Villa
Maria Academy standout who claimed the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia
Match Play Championship this summer, and sophomore Madelein Herr, the former
Council Rock North standout, finished tied for second at 2-under 214.
Basso, the 2012 PIAA Class AA champion as a sophomore, had a
1-under 71 in the final round while Herr, the District One Class AAA champion
as a senior two falls ago, matched par with a final-round 72.
“I said from the very beginning, before it even started, I
knew this wouldn’t be a cakewalk,” St. Pierre told the Penn State website. “I
knew we had some competition here and it’s nice when you do. Unfortunately, it
stings a little bit when you come up a
little short, but at the same time I’m hoping there’s some
lessons we pull out of this and it makes us a better team in the
future.”
Penn State had bettered par in each of Saturday’s rounds
with a pair of 1-under 287s (I gave them credit for a 2-under 286 in the second
round in my post on the Day 1 proceedings) and held a one-shot lead on
Maryland, which bounced back from an opening-round 293 with a 6-under 282, the
best team round of the tournament.
While Maryland matched par in Sunday’s final round, Penn
State had a 4-over 292 to finish alone in second at 4-over 866.
Penn State finished 14 shots clear of the rest of the field
as reigning Colonial Athletic Association champion Delaware took third at
18-over 882 after a final round of 5-over 293. Ivy League champion Princeton
was fourth at 889 after a final-round 298, Rutgers was fifth at 894 after a final-round
893 and Seton Hall struggled a little in the final round with a 306 to end up
in sixth at 897. Penn, with a final round of 303, finished 11th at
919.
Backing up Van Respaille for the Terrapins was Ludovica
Farina, a junior from Italy who finished alone in sixth at even-par 216 after
matching par in the final round with a 72.
Maryland got a couple of strong showings from two other
freshmen in nailing down the team title. Charlotte Lafourcade, like Van Respaille
a French woman, finished alone in 11th at 3-over 219 after a final
round of even-par 72. And Virunpat Olankitkunchai of Thailand had a final-round
73 to finish tied for 15th at 222.
Xiaolin Tian, a sophomore from China, was also in the group
with her teammate Olankitkunchai tied for 15th at 222. Tian
struggled in the final round with a 78 after solid rounds of 73 and 71 in
Saturday’s double-round.
Penn State had a third player in the top 10 as junior Jackie
Rogowicz, a two-time District One champion at Pennsbury, finished in a group of
three players tied for eighth at 2-over 218. Rogowicz was at 1-under after
rounds of 72 and 71 Saturday and finished up with a 3-over 75.
Junior Lauren Waller, the runnerup in the 2014 PIAA Class
AAA Championship as a senior at Canon-McMillan, finished tied for 20th
at 224 after a final-round 78. Kamerine Taylor, a junior from Dublin, Ohio,
struggled mightily in Saturday’s double-round, but bounced back with a final
round of 2-over 74 that was a counter for the Nittany Lions. She finished tied
for 58th at 236.
Ashni Dhruva, a sophomore from Katy, Texas, took aim on
being part of Penn State’s starting five with a strong showing over the
weekend. Dhruva, who was one of the six players Penn State took to the Big Ten
Championship last spring at TPC River’s Bend, competed as an individual and
joined Waller in the group tied for 20th at 224 after a final-round
75.
Among the other Penn State players who competed as
individuals in the Nittany Lion Invitational, freshman Olivia Zambruno, the
PIAA Class AA champion as a senior at Greensburg Central Catholic, finished
tied for 43rd at 230 after a final-round 77, sophomore Megan
McLaren, a Voorhees High product, finished tied for 55th at 235
after a final-round 76 and Ariana Coyle Diaz, a
senior from Ireland, finished tied for 63rd at 240 after a
final-round 75.
Delaware was led by Ariane Klotz, a sophomore from New
Caledonia who finished tied for fourth at 1-under 215 after a final round of
1-under 71. She shared fourth with Harvard’s Anna Zhou, a junior from Palo
Alto, Calif. who matched par in the final round with a 72.
Finishing alone in seventh, a shot behind Maryland’s Farina
at 1-over 217 was Yale’s Jennifer Peng, a senior from Highland Park, N.J. who
matched par in the final round with a 72.
Joining Penn State’s Rogowicz in the group tied for eighth
at 2-over 218 were Princeton’s Tiana Lau, a junior from Hong Kong, and Ohio
University’s Nicole Smiley, a junior from Dublin, Ohio. Lau matched par in the
final round with a 72 while Smiley fired a 1-under 71 in the final round.
Backing up Klotz for the Blue Hens was Ashley Dingman, a
junior from Fairfield, Calif. whose final round of 3-over 75 left her tied for
12th at 4-over 220.
Also for Delaware, Isabella Rimton, a sophomore from Sweden,
finished tied for 25th at 225 after a final-round 75, Josefina Fernandez-Davila,
a sophomore from Peru, was tied for 29th at 226 after a solid
even-par 72 in the final round, and Valentina Mueller, a junior from
Switzerland, was tied for 48th at 232 after a final-round 80.
After sharing the individual lead following Saturday’s
double-round, Seton Hall sophomore Maddie Sager, the PIAA Class AAA runnerup as
a senior at Owen J. Roberts two falls ago, fell back with an 80 Sunday, but led
the way for the Pirates as she finished tied for 15th at 6-over 222.
Freshman Mia Kness, the PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior
at Peters Township last fall, finished tied for 25th at 225 after a
final-round 75. Senior Macky Fouse, the PIAA Class AA champion as a senior at
Central Valley in 2013, finished tied for 35th at 228 after a
final-round 75, Lizzie Win, a
sophomore from Sylvania, Ohio, finished tied for 43rd at 230
after a final-round 76 and Cassie Pantelas, a senior from Canton, Ohio,
finished tied for 48th at 232 after a final-round 80.
Sager, Kness and Win all represented Seton Hall in last
month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif.
Sophomore Sammie Staudt, a former Coatesville standout, made
it clear she plans to compete for a spot among the Seton Hall starting five.
Competing as individual, Staudt carded a final-round 76 to finish tied for 20th
at 8-over 224.
Penn was led by Selina Zeng, a freshman from Oak Brook, Ill.
who finished tied for 33rd at 227 and Christina Park, a sophomore
from San Diego who finished tied for 35th at 228. Zeng and Park each
finished up with a 3-over 75 Sunday.
Also for the Quakers, Rina Jung, a freshman from Briarcliff
Manor, N.Y., finished 42nd at 229 after a final-round 77, Chelsea
Liu, a freshman from China, was 66th at 241 after a final-round 82 and Michelle Yom, a senior from Torrance, Calif., was tied
for 69th at 243 after a final-round 76.
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