Howerton, Lye lead the way as High Point stays hot by claiming team title in Daniel Island Invitational

 

   High Point, behind a respective 2-3 finish from Anna Howerton, a junior from Winston-Salem, N.C., and Eva Lye, a freshman from Naples, Fla., held off North Carolina State to capture the team title in the Daniel Island Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Daniel Island Club’s Ralston Course in Charleston, S.C.

   It was the second straight tournament title for the Panthers, a Big South representative, as they were coming off a victory a week earlier in the RiverTowne Intercollegiate at the RiverTowne Country Club in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

   High Point opened with a 6-over-par 294 over the 6,166-yard, par-72 Ralston Course layout, which hosted the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in 2023, and then took over the team lead with a solid 2-under 286 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round.

   The Panthers closed with a 4-under 284, the best team round of the day, in the final round to finish with an even-par 864 total.

   N.C. State, out of the tough Atlantic Coast Conference, finished six shots behind High Point in second place with a 6-over 870 total.

   The Wolfpack, behind individual champion Marie Eline Madsen, a sophomore from Denmark and No. 21 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), opened with a 9-over 297 and added a 1-under 287 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 2-under 286.

   Madsen closed with a sparkling 4-under 68 to finish a shot ahead of High Point’s Howerton and claim the fourth victory of her college career. Madsen had opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 71 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round.

   As a freshman a year ago, Madsen claimed the individual title in the NCAA’s Charlottesville Regional, becoming the first individual regional champion in program history.

   The Wolfpack, at No. 46, was the highest-ranked team in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings coming into the Daniel Island Invitational and maintained that ranking following its runnerup finish.

   N.C. State came up just short of advancing to the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., although Madsen represented N.C. State as an individual on the strength of her individual win at Charlottesville.

   Howerton had a share of the lead going into the final round as she opened with a 4-under 68 and matched par in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 72. She closed with a solid 2-under 70, but came up a shot behind Madsen with a 6-under 210 total.

   After opening with a 1-over 73, Lye rattled off back-to-back 3-under 69s as she finished a shot behind her teammate Howerton in third place with a 5-under 211 total.

   High Point entered the Daniel Island Invitational at No. 71 in the Scoreboard rankings and improved to No. 62 with its second straight tournament title.

   Checked in on the Daniel Island Invitational to keep an eye on the director of golf programs Patty Post’s Delaware team, heavily populated with recent Pennsylvania scholastic standouts.

   The Blue Hens, in their first year in Conference USA, finished in a tie for 10^th place with Charlotte at 32-over 896.

   I’ll break down how the individuals in the Delaware lineup fared later in this post and take a brief look at the Blue Hens’ spring opener as they finished in a tie for fifth place in the Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational in Eatonton, Ga. a couple of weekends ago.

   Xavier, which extended its run of Big East titles to six straight last spring, and East Carolina, an American Athletic Conference representative, finished in a tie for third place, each ending up six shots behind N.C. State at 12-over 876.

   The Musketeers, who moved up a spot from No. 80 to No. 79 in the Scoreboard rankings in the aftermath of the Daniel Island Invitational, opened with a solid 4-over 292 and added a 3-over 291 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 5-over 293.

   Xavier was led by a pair of top-10 finishers in the individual standings as Isabel Brozena, a sophomore from North Reading, Mass., ended up alone in eighth place with a 2-under 214 total and Madison Reemsnyder, a senior from Canton, Onio, landed in a tie for ninth with East Carolina’s Danielle Modder, a senior from Germany, each recording a 1-under 215 total.

   After opening with a 1-over 73, Brozena added a 1-under 71 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a solid 2-under 70. Reemsnyder tallied a pair of 1-under 71s in Monday’s double round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   The Musketeers earned a spot in the Columbus Regional as an 11 seed on the strength of their victory in the Big East Championship last spring, but were unable to advance to the NCAA Championship.

   The Pirates, who moved up from No. 96 to No. 92 in the Scoreboard rankings following its tie for third place at Daniel Island, had the lead in the team standings following an opening round of 3-over 291. They added a 10-over 298 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 1-under 287.

   East Carolina also had a pair of finishers in the top 10 in the individual standings as Marta Perez, a graduate student from Spain, shared fifth place with Charleston Southern’s Eugenie Varet, a senior from France, and Western Kentucky’s Sydney Hackett, a senior from Ashburn, Va., at 3-under 213, and Modder earned a share of ninth with Xavier’s Reemsnyder at 1-under.

   Perez got off to a fast start with a 3-under 69 in the opening round and added a 1-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 1-under 71. After opening with a 2-over 74, Modder added a 2-under 70 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before finishing up with a 1-under 71.

   Reigning Southern Conference champion Furman finished a shot behind Xavier and East Carolina fifth place with a 13-over 877 total. After opening with a 10-over 298, the Paladins bounced back with a 4-under 284 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 7-over 295.

   Furman, which moved up two spots from No. 82 to No. 80 in the Scoreboard rankings following its fifth-place finish at Daniel Island, was an 11 seed in the Norman Regional after capturing the SoCon crown last spring, but was unable to advance to the NCAA Championship.

   Oral Roberts, a Summit League entry, was another three shots behind Furman in sixth place with a 16-over 880 total.

   The Golden Eagles, who improved from No. 141 to No. 126 in the Scoreboard rankings following the Daniel Island Invitational, added a 4-over 292 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to their opening round 298 before finishing with its best round of the tournament, a solid 2-over 290.

   Delaware, which maintained its No. 110 spot in the Scoreboard rankings following the Daniel Island Invitational, bounced back from an opening-round 301 with a 6-over 294 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with another 301 to share 10^th place in the 15-team field with Charlotte, a rival of East Carolina in the AAC, at 32-over.

   Backing up Howerton and Lye for High Point was Makayla Grubb, a freshman from Stafford, Va. who finished in a tie for 16^th place with a 3-over 219 total. Grubb added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to her opening-round 74 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Anais Arafi, a sophomore from Switzerland, finished among the group tied for 29^th place with an 8-over 224 total. Arafi bounced back from an opening round of 7-over 79 by matching par in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 72 before closing with a 73.

   Rounding out the High Point lineup was Ella Perna, a senior from Durham, N.C. who finished in the group tied for 62^nd place with a 234 total. Perna posted a pair of 7-over 79s in Monday’s double round before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Charleston Southern had a pair of finishers in the top five as Katie Stephens, a senior from England, was alone in fourth place, a shot behind High Point’s Lye, at 4-under 212, and Varet, who landed among the trio tied for fifth place at 3-under.

   After opening with a 2-over 74, Stephens added a 2-under 70 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round and closed with a sparkling 4-under 68. Varet matched her teammate’s 4-under 68, although hers came in the afternoon of Monday’s double round after she had opened with a 1-over 73. Varet matched par in the final round with a 72.

   Charleston Southern, one of High Point’s Big South rivals, finished in ninth place in the team standings, the Buccaneers ending up with a 31-over 895 total.

   Western Kentucky’s Hackett had a share of the individual lead with High Point’s Howerton after Hackett carded a pair of 2-under 70s in Monday’s double round. She closed with a 1-over 73 to get a share of fifth place with East Carolina’s Perez and Charleston Southern’s Varet at 3-under.

   Hackett led Western Kentucky to the Conference USA team crown by claiming the individual title last spring and the Hilltoppers’ appearance in the Lexington Regional was the first in a regional in program history.

   Western Kentucky finished in 12^th place in the Daniel Island Invitational with a 35-over 899 total.

   Anushka Sawant, a sophomore from South Brunswick, N.J., led the way for Delaware at Daniel Island as she finished alone in 24^th place with a 6-over 222 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Sawant recorded back-to-back 3-over 75s.

   Backing up Sawant for the Blue Hens was junior Marissa Malosh, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at South Fayette who finished a shot behind Sawant in the group tied for 25thplace with a 7-over 223 total.

   After opening with a 5-over 77, Malosh added a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before matching par in the final round.

   Junior Mary Grace Dunigan, who helped Unionville capture the PIAA Class AAA team crown as a sophomore in 2020, finished among the group tied for 29^th place with an 8-over 224 total. Dunigan, whose father John was recently named the Philadelphia Section PGA’s 2025 Teacher & Coach of the Year for a fifth time, bounced back from an opening round of 4-over 76 with a 1-under 71 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 77.

   Sophomore Kate Roberts, who helped Phoenixville capture the PIAA Class AAA team title as a junior in 2022, finished among a trio of players tied for 59^th place with a 231 total. Roberts was solid in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 2-over 74, but struggled to a 79 in the opening round and a 78 in the final round.

   Kate Roberts will be joined at Delaware this summer by her younger sister Kayley, who wrapped up her scholastic career at Phoenixville last fall with a runaway victory in the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course and a runnerup finish in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was freshman Rhianna Gooneratne, the PIAA Class AAA champion as junior at Plymouth-Whitemarsh in 2023 who finished in the group tied for 62^nd place with a 232 total.

   Gooneratne never found her groove at Daniel Island, opening with a 4-over 76, adding a 79 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round and closing with a 77.

   Hyunji Kim, a sophomore from England, led the way for Delaware in its fifth-place finish in the Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational, which wrapped up Feb. 22^nd.

   Kim finished in a tie for 10^th place with a 5-over 221 total over the Great Waters Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee. Dunigan was also solid for the Blue Hens at Reynolds Lake Oconee, landing in a tie for 14^th place with a 6-over 222 total.

   Delaware finished with a team total of 35-over 899.

   Gooneratne wasn’t the only PIAA individual champion of recent vintage in the field at Daniel Island as Oral Roberts had the Swan sisters – Anna Swan, a sophomore, was the PIAA Class AA champion in 2023 as a senior at North East and Lydia Swan, a senior, was the PIAA Class AA champion in 2019 as a sophomore at North East – in the lineup.

   Anna Swan led the way for the Golden Eagles in the Daniel Island Invitational as she finished just outside the top 10 in the group tied for 11^th place with an even-par 216 total. Anna Swan opened with a 1-under 71 and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Lydia Swan finished among the trio tied for 41^st place at 226 as she bounced back from an opening-round 81 with a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a solid 1-under 71.