Jones has top-10 finish in UD Lady Blue Hen Invitational, capping strong start to her college career at Richmond

    In September while I was chronicling the first foray at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship by Merion Golf Club’s Loraine Jones, her daughter Lauren was beginning a freshman season that saw her quickly ascend to the top of Richmond lineup.

   Lauren Jones was one of the Inter-Ac League’s top players while competing for Episcopal Academy, capping her run there by winning the league’s individual title as a senior last spring at French Creek Golf Club. She was really gaining some momentum as a player when she earned a trip to the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis. in the summer of 2019.

   But I got the sense that some of that momentum was slowed when the coronavirus pandemic appeared in the spring of 2020, wiping out the Inter-Ac season. Well, this fall as Jones embarked on her career as a college golfer, the momentum was back.

   Lauren Jones capped her fall run by finishing in a tie for 10^th place in last weekend’s University of Delaware Lady Blue Hen Invitational, which wrapped up Sunday at Rehoboth Beach Country Club in Rehoboth Beach, Del. with a 9-over-par 225 total. That led the Spiders to a third-place finish in the team standings with a 40-over 904 total.

   Jones was solid right from the start this fall. She finished in a tie for 22^nd place with a 6-over 222 total in her college debut in the Kingsmill Intercollegiate at the Kingsmill Resort’s River Course Sept. 12 and 13. Jones matched par in the final round after carding a pair of 3-over 75s in the first two rounds and led Richmond to a seventh-place finish out of 15 teams at Kingsmill.

   Richmond waded into some deeper waters when it teed off in the Bryan National Collegiate, co-hosted by Atlantic Coast Conference power Wake Forest at Bryan Park Golf Club in Greensboro, N.C. Sept. 26 to Sept. 28.

   Jones, playing from Richmond’s No. 1 spot, added a 3-over 75 to her opening-round 78 before closing with a 76 to land in the group tied for 43^rd place at 13-over 229. She helped the Spiders finish in 10^th place in the tough 11-team field.

   That set the stage for Jones’ runnerup finish in the Navy Fall Invitational at the Naval Academy Golf Club in Annapolis, Md. Oct. 2 and 3 that led Richmond to the team title in the 13-team field. Playing out of the No. 4 spot in the lineup, Jones matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 1-over 73 for a 1-over 145 total.

   Jones was back at the top of lineup at Rehoboth Beach and, after opening with a 6-over 78 over the 6,169-yard, par-72 layout, she posted a 2-under 70 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 77. That left Jones with a scoring average of 74.64 for the fall campaign and she will be the first player in the history of the program to take a sub-75 scoring average into the spring portion of the season when Richmond returns to the golf course in March.

   Richmond, which competes in the Patriot League for golf, was surrounded by Ivy League entries in the team standings in the UD Lady Blue Hen.

   Princeton, getting a 1-2 finish in the individual standings from a couple of Canadians, junior Tiffany Kong and freshman Victoria Liu, captured the team title with a 27-over 891 total. The Tigers finished 11 shots ahead of Ivy League rival Harvard, which claimed runnerup honors with a 38-over 902 total.

   Talk about having your momentum halted. Not only did the Ivy League players lose the spring of 2020 to the pandemic, but the league never allowed them to compete during the entire 2020-’21 season.

   Princeton, coming off a first-place finish in its Princeton Invitational at Springdale Golf Club in Princeton, N.J. last month, struggled to a 305 in the opening round Saturday morning at Rehoboth Beach, but bounced back with a 1-under 287 in Saturday afternoon’s second round, the best team round of the weekend, before closing with a 1-over 289.

   It seems like a long time ago that Harvard won the Ivy League team title the last time the league championship was contested at The Ridge at Back Brook in Ringoes, N.J. in the spring of 2019. The Crimson opened with a 13-over 301 at Rehoboth Beach and added a 299 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 302 to finish in second place behind Princeton.

   Behind Jones, Richmond opened with a 304 before adding a solid 2-over 290 in Saturday’s second round that left the Spiders just two shots behind Princeton heading into Sunday’s final round. Richmond struggled a little in a final-round 310 that left it in third place, two shots behind Harvard.

   Another Ivy League entry, Penn, was another seven shots behind Richmond in fourth place with a 47-over 911 total. The Quakers grabbed the lead with an opening round of 5-over 293. They fell back with a 304 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 314.

   Host Delaware, which plays out of the Colonial Athletic Association, and Georgetown, a perennial Big East contender, finished in a tie for fifth place in the 12-team field, seven shots behind Penn, each registering a 54-over 918 total. The Blue Hens trailed opening-round leader Penn by just five shots with a solid 10-over 298. But Delaware struggled to a 311 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 309. The Hoyas added a 301 to their opening-round 302 before struggling in the final round with a 315.

   Kong led the way for Princeton as she claimed the individual title by a shot over her teammate Liu. Kong matched par in both ends of Saturday’s double round and trailed Delaware’s Oihana Etxezarreta, a sophomore from Spain, by a shot heading into Sunday’s final round. Kong finished up with a 5-over 77 that gave her a 5-over 221 total and the individual crown.

   After opening with a 76, Liu added a pair of 1-over 73s to finish a shot behind her teammate in second place with a 6-over 222 total.

   Karen Kim, a sophomore from South Korea, gave Princeton a third top-three finisher as she joined three other players in a tie for third place at 223, a shot behind Liu. Kim added a solid 2-under 70 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to her opening-round 75 before finishing up with a 78.

   Sophie Siminoff, a senior from Los Altos Hills, Calif., backed up the top three for Princeton as she finished in a tie for 19^th place at 229. Siminoff struggled to an 82 in the opening round, but bounced back with a 1-over 73 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 74.

   Rounding out the Princeton lineup was Kyung Eun Lee, a freshman from Honolulu, Hawaii who finished among the group tied for 25^th place with a 231 total. After struggling to an 84 in the opening round, Lee matched par in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a 72 before finishing up with a 75.

   Delaware’s Etxezarreta joined Princeton’s Kim in the group tied for third place at 223. Etxezarreta had grabbed the lead at the end of Saturday’s double round as she opened with a 1-under 71 before matching par with a 72 in the afternoon. Etxezarreta backed off a little in the final round with an 80.

   Rounding out the foursome at 223 were Harvard’s Isabella Gomez, a sophomore from Colombia, and Georgetown’s Lauren May, a junior from Austin, Texas. Gomez got off to a fast start with a 2-under 70 and added a 76 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 77. May added a 74 to her opening round of 1-over 73 before finishing up with a 76.

   Penn’s Leila Dizon, a senior from Los Angeles, headed a trio of players tied for seventh place at 8-over 224. Dizon opened with the best round of the weekend, a 3-under 69. She fell back with a 4-over 76 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 79.

   Joining Dizon at 224 were Harvard’s Chloe Royston, a senior from South Africa, and St. John’s Jessie Kweon, a senior from Little Neck, N.J. Royston matched par in the final round with a 72 after signing for a pair of 76s in Saturday’s double round. Kweon bounced back from an opening-round 78 with a 1-under 71 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 75.

   Joining Richmond’s Jones in the tie for 10^th place at 225 was Harvard’s Anina Ku, a senior from Basking Ridge, N.J. Ku bounced back from an opening-round 79 with a 1-under 71 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 75.

   Backing up Dizon for Penn was Mary Shin, a senior from Irvine, Calif. who finished among the group tied for 12^th place at 10-over 226. Shin added a 1-over 73 to her opening-round 77 before finishing up with a 76.

   Natalie Cao, a freshman from Sugar Land, Texas, gave the Quakers a third finisher inside the top 16 as she landed in a tie for 16^th place at 227, adding a pair of 78s to her solid opening round of 1-under 71.

   Debby Chang, a sophomore from South Korea, finished among the group tied for 32^nd place with a 235 total as she added a 78 to her opening-round 76 before finishing up with an 81. Rounding out the Penn lineup was Sheina Li, a junior from Hong Kong who finished alone in 53^rd place as she bounced back from an opening-round 84 with a 77 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with an 81 that left her with a 242 total.

   Abigail Wirawatha, a senior from West Covina, Calif., competed as an individual for the Quakers and ended up among the group tied for 59^th place with a 245 total. Wirawatha added an 80 to her opening-round 82 before finishing up with an 83.

   Backing up Etxezarreta for Delaware was Alisa Khokhlova, a freshman from Russia who finished among the group tied for 12^th place at 10-over 226. Khokhlova matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 78 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 76.

   Sophomore Christina Carroll, a William Penn High product, finished among the group tied for 28^th place as she added a 78 to her opening-round 77 before closing with a 79 for a 234 total.

   Anna Kittelson, a senior from Boise, Idaho, finished in the group tied for 37^th place with a 236 total as she struggled in Saturday afternoon’s second round with an 83 after opening with a 78. She closed with her best round of the weekend, a 3-over 75. Kittelson and Etxezarreta represented Delaware in last spring’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas, although they came up short of a spot in the match-play bracket.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Lilia Henkel, a freshman from Grand Rapids, Mich. who finished in a tie for 51^st place at 241. Henkel sandwiched an 83 in Saturday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 79s.

   Lexi Dart, a junior from England, headed a group of three Delaware players who competed as individuals in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational. After opening with an 81, Dart carded a 5-over 77 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 79 that left her among the group tied for 42^nd place with a 237 total.

   Liz Coffren, a sophomore from Owings, Md., finished in a tie for 57^th place with a 244 total as she added an 84 to her opening-round 79 before closing with an 81. Lene Sperling, a junior from Germany, bounced back from an opening-round 89 with a 79 in Saturday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with an 80 that left her alone in 65^th place with a 238 total.

   Georgetown senior Kaitlyn Lees, who was a three-time Inter-Ac League champion during an outstanding scholastic career at Agnes Irwin, had a solid showing at Rehoboth Beach, finishing among the group tied for 28^th place with a 234 total. After opening with an 82, Lees carded a 3-over 75 in Saturday afternoon’s before closing with a 77.

   Lees, like the Jones family, a member at Merion Golf Club, started her college journey at Dartmouth and finished in third place in that 2019 Ivy League Championship at The Ridge at Back Brook. Lees transferred to Georgetown after Dartmouth briefly dropped its men’s and women’s golf programs, which have since been salvaged. Lees has found a home in the starting lineup for the Hoyas this fall.