Host Kentucky won the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational for the
second straight year and Penn State came up just short of a second straight
runnerup finish, ending up in third place a shot behind Big Ten rival Rutgers
Sunday at the University Club of Kentucky’s Big Blue Course in Lexington, Ky.
The Wildcats jumped in front with a 3-under 285 over the
6,115-yard, par-72 Big Blue Course in Friday’s opening round and stayed there
the rest of the weekend. Kentucky added 1-under 287s in Saturday’s second round
and in Sunday’s windup to finish at 5-under 859.
It’s the first time Kentucky has won the Bettie Lou Evans
back-to-back since 1996 and 1997. The Wildcats, out of the Southeastern
Conference, opened the season with a team win in the Minnesota Invitational and
their win this weekend gave them back-to-back tournament victories for the
first time since 1990-’91.
Rutgers closed with the best team round of the weekend, a
sparkling 7-under 281 that enabled the Red Knights to surge past Penn State
into second place with a 10-over 874 total, 15 shots behind Kentucky.
Penn State opened with a 1-under 287 Friday and remained in
second place with a 5-over 293 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up
with a 7-over 295 that left the Nittany Lions a shot behind Rutgers in third
place at 11-over 875.
A year ago, a much different Penn State team closed with a
program record 10-under 278 to finish two shots behind Kentucky with a 4-under
860 total that was also a program record.
Western Kentucky closed with a solid 1-under 287 to take
fourth place at 13-over 877, two shots behind Penn State. Middle Tennessee was
another seven shots behind the Hilltoppers in fifth place in the 13-team field
at 20-over 884 after sandwiching a second-round 300 with a pair of 4-over 292s.
Kentucky was led by Sarah Shipley, a senior from Hastings,
Mich., and Rikke Svejgaard Nielsen, a junior from Denmark, both of whom were
among the trio of players tied for fifth place at 2-under 214.
Shipley opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in
Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-under 71. Sveggaard
Nielsen was in the hunt for the individual title with rounds of 1-under 71 in
Friday’s opening round and 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round before closing
with a 1-over 73.
Casey Ott, a sophomore from Conway, Ark., gave Kentucky a
third top-10 finisher as she ended up alone in 10th place at even-par 216. Ott
was steady all weekend, matching par in the opening round with a 72 and adding
a 1-under 71 before closing with a 1-over 73.
Jensen Castle, a freshman from West Columbia, S.C., was
another shot behind Ott in a tie for 11th place at 1-over 217 after
closing with a 2-under 70. Rounding out the Kentucky lineup was Marissa
Wenzler, a freshman from Centerville, Ohio who finished among the group tied
for 13th place at 3-over 219. Wenzler matched par in the opening
round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 before finishing up with a 2-over 74.
The individual title went to the reigning NCAA Division II
Player of the Year, Indianapolis University’s Pilar Echeverria, a senior from
Guatemala. Echeverria sandwiched a 1-under 71 with a pair of 2-under 70s for a
5-under 211 total and a two-shot victory over a trio of pursuers.
It’s the second time that Echeverria has claimed individual
honors in a Division I field as she captured the title in last spring’s Lady
Buckeye Invitational at The Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course.
Penn State was led by Sarah Willis, a sophomore from Eaton,
Ohio who was part of the three-way tie for second place at 3-under 213. Willis,
who was the breakout freshman star on last year’s veteran team, opened with a
2-under 70 and matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a
1-under 71.
Rutgers’ Carrie-Ann Lee, a senior from Hong Kong, had the
best individual round of the tournament, a 5-under 67 in the final round, to
earn her share of second place at 3-under. Lee had opened with a 1-under 71
before posting a 3-over 75 in the second round.
Tulane’s Carlota Palacios, a freshman from Spain, had the
individual lead going into the final round after adding a 1-under 71 in
Saturday’s second round to her opening round of 3-under 69. She fell back into
the tie for second at 213 with a final-round 73.
Joining Kentucky’s Shipley and Svejgaard Nielsen in the trio
tied for fifth place at 2-under 214 was Middle Tennessee’s Sophie Burks, a
junior from Montgomery, Ala. who sandwiched a 2-over 74 with a pair of 2-under
70s.
Penn State got another strong showing from its standout
freshman, Mathilde Delavallade of France. Coming off a tie for eighth place in
the Nittany Lion Invitational, Delavallade again got a share of eighth place in
the Bettie Lou Evans with Rutgers’ Harriet Allsebrook, a junior from England,
at 1-under 215.
Delavallade had a share of the lead following the opening
round after she fired a 3-under 69. She matched par in the second round with a
72 before closing with a 2-over 74. Allesbrook closed with a sparkling 4-under
68 to get her share of eighth place.
Penn State got another solid showing from junior Olivia
Zambruno, the 2016 PIAA Class AA champion as a senior at Greensburg Central
Catholic who had her best round of the weekend in Sunday’s final round, a
1-over 73 that left her in the group tied for 22nd at 8-over 224.
Zambruno lost in the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur final to former Penn State teammate
Jackie Rogowicz at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Militia Hill Course this summer.
Senior Megan McLean, who starred scholastically at Voorhees
High, matched par in the opening round with a 72 before struggling a little
with respective rounds of 76 and 77 in the last two rounds as she landed among
the group tied for 29th place at 9-over 225.
Rounding out the Penn State lineup was senior Madelein Herr,
a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Council Rock North who finished alone
in 52nd place at 230. Herr sandwiched a 2-over 74 in the second
round with a pair of 78s.
Ashni Dhurva, a senior from Katy, Texas, competed as an
individual for the Nittany Lions, closing with a solid 1-over 73 to finish
among the group tied for 53rd place at 231.
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