Gooneratne's first collegiate victory leads Delaware to team title in Mary Fossum Invitational

 

   Rhianna Gooneratne, the PIAA Class AAA champion as a junior at Plymouth-Whitemarsh in 2023, was the leading lady for Delaware in its first two tournaments of the fall portion of the wraparound 2026-2027 season.

   Last week in the Mary Fossum Invitational, hosted by Big Ten power Michigan State at Forest Akers West in East Lansing, Mich., Gooneratne, a junior for the Blue Hens, was the leading lady, period.

   Gooneratne carded a second straight even-par 72 over the 6,370-yard, par-72 Forest Akers West layout to claim her first individual collegiate victory by two shots with an even-par 144 total. It was the 13^th individual tournament victory in the history of the Delaware program.

   The Mary Fossum was originally scheduled to be a 54-hole event, but rainy weather limited the planned 36-hole double round Sept. 20^th to just one round. The tournament was completed with another single round last Monday, Sept. 21^st.

   More importantly, Gooneratne led Delaware, a Conference USA representative, to the team title, the Blue Hens putting together a 23-over 599 total that enabled them to finish four shots clear of Mid-American Conference entry Central Michigan.

   It was the 16^th tournament team title in the history of the Delaware program.

   Delaware had battled a couple of tough fields in its first two tournaments of the season.

   Gooneratne had finished in a tie for 15^th place to help the Blue Hens finish in 10^th place in the Nittany Lion Invitational to open their season.

   It was a tie for 10^th place in the Badger Invitational, which wrapped up Sept. 15^th at host Wisconsin’s University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wis., for the Blue Hens. Gooneratne again led the way, finishing in a tie for 28^th place in the individual standings.

   In the Mary Fossum, Delaware opened with a 10-over 298, the best team round of the tournament, to take a two-shot lead over Michigan State.

   The Spartans boast an elite program and closed out their 2025-’26 season in the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. after gutting out a fourth-place finish as a seven seed at the Chapel Hill Regional last spring.

   A 13-over 301 in the second round enabled Delaware to finish at the top of the team leaderboard.

   Delaware also got a strong showing from senior Mary Grace Dunigan, who led Unionville to the PIAA Class AAA team crown in 2020 during an outstanding scholastic career with the Longhorns.

   Dunigan, who captured the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur crown in July at Gulph Mills Golf Club, opened with a 1-over 73 and added a 2-over 74 in the second round to finish alone in third place with a 3-over 147 total that left her a shot behind Bowling Green’s Addison Kartusch, a junior from Canada.

   Delaware had a third finisher inside the top six as Hyunji Kim, a junior from England who ended up in a tie for sixth place with a 6-over 150 total. After opening with a 5-over 77, Kim contributed a critical 1-over 73 in the second round.

   Central Michigan, with Rachel Niskanen, a senior from Negaunee, Mich., and Elise Fennell, a freshman from Caledonia, Mich., finishing in a tie for fourth place in the individual standings at 5-over 149, matched Delaware’s final round of 13-over 301 to finish four shots behind the Blue Hens in second place with a 27-over 603 total.

   The Chippewas had opened with a 302.

   Niskanen bounced back from an opening round of 5-over 77 to match Gooneratne’s even-par 72 for the low round of the day in the second round. Fennell opened with a 1-over 73 before closing with a 4-over 76.

   Central Michigan had a third player end up in the top 10 as Lexi Schulman, a senior from Vernon Hills, Ill., finished among the group tied for 10^th place with an 8-over 152 total. Schulman closed with a 3-over 75 after opening with a 77.

   Michigan State only trailed Delaware by three shots following its opening round of 13-over 301, but the Spartans struggled in the second round with a 307 and settled for a third-place finish at 32-over 608, five shots behind Central Michigan.

   Michigan State was led by Keeley Marx, a senior from Australia who shared sixth place with Delaware’s Kim with a 6-over 150 total. Marx signed for a pair of 3-over 75s.

   Sarisa Pajanalai, a sophomore from Thailand, gave Michigan State another player inside the top eight as she finished in a tie for eighth place with a 7-over 151 total. After opening with a solid 2-over 74, Pajanalai finished up with a 77.

   Rutgers, another Big Ten representative, and Bowling Green, one of Central Michigan's MAC rivals, finished in a tie for fourth place in the 15-team field, each ending up a shot behind Michigan State with a 33-over 609 total.

   The Red Knights added a 16-over 304 in the second round to their opening-round 305. The Falcons bounced back from an opening-round 310 with one of the best team rounds of the tournament, an 11-over 299 in the second round.

   Rutgers was led by Emily James, a senior from England who shared eighth place with Michigan State’s Pajanalai at 7-over. James had grabbed the lead after opening with a 1-under 71, the best individual round of the tournament, before falling back with an 80 in the second round.

   The Red Knights had another finisher in the top 10 as Judy Amano, a junior from Japan, ended up among the trio tied for 10^th place at 8-over. Amano closed with a solid 2-over 74 after opening with a 78.

   Bowling Green, behind Kartusch, the runnerup in the individual chase, bounced back from an opening-round 310 with an 11-over 299 in the second round.

   Kartusch was right there with Gooneratne, matching par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 2-over 74 that left her alone in second place with a 2-over 146 total.

   Bowling Green’s Avery Thompson, a junior from Heath, Ohio, rounded out the trio tied for 10^th place 8-over as she bounced back from an opening-round 79 with a solid 1-over 73 in the second round.

   Bowling Green accepted an invitation to last spring’s National Golf Invitational at the AK-Chin Southern Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz. and Kartusch made the most of the opportunity by capturing the individual crown.

   Backing up the top three of Gooneratne, Dunigan and Kim for Delaware was Anushka Sawant, a junior from South Brunswick, N.J. who finished among the group tied for 38^th place with a 158 total. Sawant opened with a 4-over 76 before adding an 82 in the second round.

   It was a bit of a struggle at Forest Akers West for freshman Kayley Roberts, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during an outstanding scholastic career at Phoenixville.

   Roberts rounded out the Delaware lineup as she finished in a tie for 71^st place with a 165 total after adding an 82 in the second round to her opening-round 83.

   One of Roberts’ chief rivals during her scholastic career, Mya Morgan, who captured the last two PIAA Class AAA individual titles in her last two years at Elizabeth Forward, had a strong showing for Central Michigan.

   Morgan, a freshman, opened with a 3-over 75 and added a 78 in the second round to finish in the group tied for 13^th place with a 9-over 153 total for the Chippewas.