Delavallade leads the way as Penn State finishes fourth in Columbia Classic

   Penn State junior Mathilde Delavallade of France struggled a little in the opener of the spring portion of the wraparound 2022-2023 season for the Nittany Lions as she finished in 71^st place in the UCF Challenge at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando.

   But Delavallade bounced right back this weekend, opening the Columbia Classic at Duran Golf Club in Melbourne, Fla. with a 3-under-par 69. The Columbia Classic was scheduled to be a three-round event, but Sunday’s second round was washed out by heavy rain and windy conditions.

   The Penn State guys got in the final round of the VyStar Credit Union Gators Invitational Sunday in Gainesville, Fla., but the rain that went south of Gainesville did not miss Melbourne, which is on Florida’s East Coast, just below Orlando.

   Delavallade closed with a 3-over 75 in chilly and windy conditions in Monday’s final round to finish in a group of four players tied for sixth place with an even-par 144 total over the 6,357-yard, par-72 Duran layout and help Penn State end up with an encouraging fourth-place finish in the team standings.

   This is probably Penn State’s best team since the senior trio of Jackie Rogowicz, Cara Basso and Lauren Waller wrapped up their careers in the spring of 2019. Getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Regionals has been elusive for Penn State, which plays out of the Big Ten.

   That 2018-’19 team entered the Big Ten Championship at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio ranked 49th, but an 11^th-place finish in the team standings probably cost the Nittany Lions a chance to make it to regionals.

   Four years later, Penn State was No. 70 in the latest Golfstat rankings going into the Columbia Classic. In addition to Delavallade, head coach Denise St. Pierre’s starting lineup included fifth-year players Taylor Waller, Lauren’s younger sister and, like her big sis, a product of Canon-McMillan, and Sarah Willis of Eaton, Ohio as well as senior Isha Dhruva of Katy, Texas.

   Making a run at an NCAA Regional appearance will be a big hill for this group to climb, but Penn State certainly has some experience. And its fourth-place finish in the Columbia Classic was a step in the right direction.

   The highest-ranked team in the Columbia Classic, No. 31 Texas Tech out of the Big 12, claimed the team crown, the Red Raiders overcoming reigning Ivy League champion Princeton, ranked 72^nd, in Monday’s final round with a 3-under 285 that gave them a 5-under 571 total.

   Texas Tech had recorded a 2-under 286 in Saturday’s opening round and trailed the Tigers by four shots as Princeton opened with a solid 6-under 282, the low team round of the weekend. Princeton added a 6-over 294 in Monday’s final round to finish five shots behind the Red Raiders in second place with an even-par 576 total.

   Three players shared medalist honors in the individual chase at 2-under 142, Texas Tech’s Anna Dong, a senior from China, and a pair of Princeton players, Catherine Rao, a freshman from Camarillo, Calif., and Victoria Liu, a sophomore from Canada.

   Dong closed with a solid 2-under 70 after matching par in the opening round with a 72 to claim the first individual title of her career.

   Liu was tied for the lead with two other players, including Penn State’s Delavallade, after carding a 3-under 69 in Saturday’s opening round. She added a 1-over 73 in Monday’s final round to get a share of the title, the fourth of her career, including the individual Ivy League crown she won last spring at the Ridge at Back Brook in Ringoes, N.J.

   Rao had opened with a 1-over 73, but came on strong with a 3-under 69, the only sub-70 round of Monday’s final round, to get her share of the individual title, the first of her career.

   Texas Tech and Princeton both teed it up in the NCAA Stanford Regional last spring, the Red Raiders getting an at-large berth and the Tigers punching their ticket by capturing the Ivy League title.

   Tulsa, an American Athletic Conference entry and No. 34 in the Golfstat rankings, finished four shots behind Princeton in third place with a 4-over 580 total. The Golden Hurricane closed with a solid 2-under 286 after registering a 6-over 294 in Saturday’s opening round.

   Penn State added a 5-over 293 in Monday’s final round to its opening round of 7-over 295 to finish eight shots behind Tulsa in fourth place with a 12-over 588 total.

   No. 87 Notre Dame, out of the tough Atlantic Coast Conference, finished a shot behind Penn State in fifth place with a 13-over 589 total. The Fighting Irish added a 6-over 294 in Monday’s final round to their opening-round 295.

   Texas Tech had a couple of freshmen who contended for the individual title as Shannon Tan of Singapore and No. 68 in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and Lauren Zaretsky of Canada finished in a tie for fourth place, a shot behind the top three with a 1-under 143 total.

   Tan carded a 1-under 71 in Monday’s final round after matching par in the opening round with a 72. Zaretsky opened with a 2-under 70 and then finished up with a 1-over 73.

   Texas Tech’s Gala Dumez, a junior from France, matched par in the opening round with a 72 and finished up with a 2-over 74 to finish among the group tied for 14^th place with a 2-over 146 total.

   Rounding out the Texas Tech lineup was Chiara Horder, a sophomore from Germany who finished in a tie for 18^th place with a 3-over 147 total. After opening with a 4-over 76, Horder contributed a crucial 1-under 71 to the Red Raiders’ strong finish in Monday’s final round.

   Texas Tech also got a strong showing from Cecilie Nielsen, a senior from Denmark who competed as an individual and finished among a group of four players tied for 10^th place with a 1-over 145 total. Nielsen matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 1-over 73 in Monday’s final round.

   Joining Penn State’s Dellavallade in the quartet tied for sixth place at even-par 144, a shot behind Texas Tech’s Tan and Zaretsky, were a pair of Notre Dame players, Montgomery Ferreira, a sophomore from Tacoma, Wash., and Chloe Schiavone, a junior from Jacksonville, Fla., and Tulsa’s Sydney Seigel, a sophomore from Phoenix, Ariz. Ferreira, Schiavone and Seigel each matched par with 72s in both rounds.

   Joining Texas Tech’s Nielsen in the quartet tied for 10^th place in the individual standings were a pair of Tulsa players, Lily Thomas, a senior from Bentonville, Ark., and Grace Kilcrease, a freshman from Springdale, Ark., and Princeton’s Tiffany Kong, a senior from Canada.

   Thomas, who represented Tulsa while competing as an individual in the NCAA Stillwater Regional last spring, finished up with a 1-under 71 in Monday’s final round after opening with a 74. Kilcrease matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 1-over 73.

   Kong opened with a solid 1-under 71 before finishing up with a 2-over 74 in Monday’s final round.

   Backing up Dellavallade for Penn State was Waller, who closed with a solid 1-under 71 after opening with a 75 to finish among the group tied for 14lth place with a 2-over 146 total.

   Dhruva bounced back from an opening-round 76 by matching par in Monday’s final round with a 72 as she gave Penn State a third finisher inside the top 20, ending up in the group tied for 20^th place with a 4-over 148 total.

   Willis posted a pair of 3-over 75s to finish in the group tied for 29^th place with a 6-over 150 total.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Drew Nienhaus, a sophomore from St. Louis, Mo., as she recorded a pair of 4-over 76s for an 8-over 152 total that left her in the group tied for 36^th place.

   Sophomore Michelle Cox, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a high school standout at Emmaus, competed as an individual in the Columbia Classic. After struggling to an 87 in Saturday’s opening round, Cox bounced back with a 3-over 75 in Monday’s final round to finish in the group tied for 65^th place with a 162 total.

   Notre Dame senior Caroline Wrigley, the 2018 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at North Allegheny, also struggled in the opening round with an 83, but bounced back with a 2-over 74 in Monday’s final round to finish among the group tied for 54^th place with a 157 total. Wrigley began her college career at Furman before transferring to Notre Dame.

   Richmond, out of the Patriot League, finished in ninth place in the team standings with a couple of Philadelphia region players in the starting lineup. The Spiders added a 306 in Monday’s final round to their opening-round 309 for a 39-over 615 total.

   Freshman Hannah Lydic, the Sussex Academy product coming off a solid start to her college career for Richmond in the fall, bounced back from an opening-round 80 with a solid 1-over 73 in Monday’s final round to finish in the group tied for 41^st place with a 153 total.

   Sophomore Lauren Jones, who won the Inter-Ac League’s individual championship in the spring of 2021 to cap an outstanding career at Episcopal Academy, opened with a 6-over 78 and added an 81 in Monday’s final round to finish in a tie for 60^th place with a 159 total for Richmond.

   Horizon League representative Youngstown State, with a couple of former scholastic standouts from western Pennsylvania in the lineup, finished in 12^th place in the 14-team field as the Penguins added a 312 in Monday’s final round to their opening-round 316 for a 628 total.

   Junior Madie Smithco, the PIAA Class AA champion in 2017 and again in ’18 while playing for North Catholic, finished in the group tied for 41^st place with a 9-over 153 total. Smithco bounced back from an opening-round 80 with a 1-over 73 in Monday’s final round.

   Senior Danae Rugola was a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Uniontown, finishing in a tie for second place behind Wrigley as a junior in 2018. Rugola added an 84 in Monday’s final round after opening with an 81 to finish in the group tied for 69^th place with a 165 total for Youngstown State.