Dunigan, Kim lead host Delaware to team title in Lady Blue Hen Invitational at Rehoboth Beach

 

   Delaware capped a fall campaign to remember by capturing the team title as the host of the Lady Blue Hen Invitational, which wrapped up Sunday at Rehoboth Beach Country Club along the Delaware coast.

   It was the second win of the fall portion of the wraparound 2026-2027 college season for Delaware. When the first Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings were released earlier this month, the Blue Hens were at No. 73, the highest ranking in the history of the program.

   Delaware had fallen back to No. 75 leading up to the Lady Blue Hen Invitational. That ranking could go back up following its win in its home event.

   More importantly, Delaware is the only Conference USA team in the top 100 in the rankings.

   After opening with an 8-over 296 over the 6,169-yard, par-72 Rehoboth Beach layout, Delaware took control of the team chase with a 4-under 284 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round that gave the Blue Hens a nine-shot lead over Penn, one of a trio of Ivy League contenders.

   Delaware closed with a 2-over 290 for a 6-over 870 total that gave the Blue Hens a five-shot victory over the other two Ivy League teams in the field, Dartmouth and Havard. It was the third straight victory in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational for homestanding Delaware.

   Delaware was led by senior Mary Grace Dunigan, who starred scholastically at Unionville, and Hunji Kim, a junior from England, as they finished in a tie for second place in the individual chase, two shots behind individual champion Vanessa Zhang, a junior at Harvard from Canada.

   Dunigan, who captured the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur Championship in July at Gulph Mills Golf Club and represented Delaware in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn. in August, sandwiched a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a pair of 1-under 71s for a 1-under 215 total.

   Kim posted a 3-under 69 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round after matching par in the opening round with a 72 and was tied for the lead with Vanessa Zhang going into the final round. Kim closed with a 2-over 74 to fall back into the tie for second place at 1-under.

   Vanessa Zhang, who represented Harvard as an individual in last spring’s NCAA Tallahassee Regional, opened with a sparkling 5-under 67 as the Crimson matched Delaware’s opening round of 8-over 296.

   Harvard, No. 55 in the Scoreboard rankings, struggled in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a 306 before closing with a sizzling 9-under 279, the low team round of the tournament, to get a share of second place with Ivy League rival Dartmouth at 11-over 875.

   Vanessa Zhang added a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to her opening-round 67 before matching par in the final round with a 72 that gave her the individual title with a 3-under 213 total.

   Harvard had another player finish in the top 10 as standout freshman Rayee Feng, a product of The Pingry School, closed with a sizzling 6-under 66, the low individual round of the tournament, to share eighth place with Youngstown State’s Ines Gonzalez Ortega, a freshman from Spain, and St. John’s Lily Huynh, a junior from Chatsworth, Calif., each landing on 1-over 217.

   Feng had opened with a 5-over 77 and added a 2-over 74 in afternoon of Saturday’s double round.

   Dartmouth also opened with an 8-over 296 and added a 295 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before closing a solid 4-under 284 to get a share of second place with its Ivy League rival Harvard at 11-over.

   Penn, No. 70 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished two shots behind its two Ivy League rivals in fourth place with a 13-over 877 total.

   The Quakers opened with a 4-over 292 and added a 297 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before matching par in the final round with a 288.

   Penn was led by Juliet Oh, a standout freshman from Diamond Bar, Calif. who joined Delaware’s Dunigan and Kim in the foursome tied for second place at 1-under.

   Oh, who reached the second round of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C. in July, opened with a 1-under 71 before matching par in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 72s.

   Penn was coming off a trip across the pond earlier in the month as the Quakers teed it up in the St. Andrews Links Collegiate at the home of golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland.

   A victory over the Big Ten’s Washington lifted Penn to a third-place finish in what, I’m quite certain, was an exhilarating experience for the whole team.

   The photo at the top of Penn’s roster on its website is of the team and the coaches on the Swilcan Bridge on the 18^th hole at St. Andrews. Pretty cool.

   Georgetown, a Big East representative, finished in fifth place in the 11-team field with a 20-over 884 total. The Hoyas added a 4-over 292 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to their opening-round 298 before closing with a 294.

   Georgetown was led by Mahreen Bhatia, a freshman from India who shared sixth place with Youngstown State’s Neeranuch Prajunpanich, a senior from Thailand, each ending up with an even-par 216 total.

   Bhatia added a solid 3-under 69 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to her opening round of 1-over 73 before closing with a 74.

   Backing up Dunigan and Kim for Delaware was sophomore Rhianna Gooneratne, the PIAA Class AAA champion in 2023 as a junior at Plymouth-Whitemarsh who finished in the group tied for 11^th place with a 2-over 218 total.

   It’s been a pretty special fall for Gooneratne as she followed up her first collegiate victory in the Mary Fossum Invitational at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West Course last month with another win in the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational hosted by Kansas at Lawrence Country Club, where she finished with a 2-under 211 total earlier this month.

   Gooneratne’s heroics led the Blue Hens to the team title in the Mary Fossum and a runnerup finish in the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational.

   Gooneratne struggled a little in her opening round at Rehoboth Beach with a 5-over 77 before bouncing back with a 3-under 69 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round. She matched par in the final round with a 72.

   Freshman Kayley Roberts, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Phoenixville, finished in a tie for 25^th place with a 9-over 225 total for the Blue Hens. Kayley Roberts sandwiched a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a pair of 4-over 76s.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Anushka Sawant, a junior from South Brunswick, N.J. who finished among the group tied for 48^th place with a 235 total. Sawant struggled in Saturday’s double round with a pair of 81s before contributing a solid 1-over 73 to Delaware’s strong final-round showing.

   Patty Post, the director of golf programs at Delaware, used the occasion of her home tournament to get three other players on the golf course as individuals.

   Senior Marissa Malosh, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at South Fayette, had a nice showing, finishing in the group tied for 27^th place with a 226 total. After opening with a 6-over 78, Malosh recorded back-to-back 2-over 74s in the final two rounds.

   Junior Kate Roberts, Kayley Roberts’ older sister and a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Phoenixville, finished among a trio of players tied for 37^th place with a 229 total. After opening with a 2-over 74, Kate Roberts added a 77 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before closing with a 78.

   Victoria Rivera, a sophomore from Puerto Rico, rounded out the Delaware contingent as she finished among a trio of players tied for 56^th place with a 239 total. Rivera added a 6-over 78 in the afternoon of the Saturday double round to her opening-round 82 before finishing up with a 79.

   Rounding out the foursome tied for second place at 1-under was Seton Hall’s Marta Aguilar, a junior from Spain who opened with a solid 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before matching par in the final round.

   Aguilar led the Pirates, another Big East entry, to a seventh-place finish with a 35-over 899 total.

   Youngstown State’s Prajunpanich joined Georgetown’s Bhatia in the tie for sixth place at even-par 216. Prajunpanich matched par in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a 72 after opening with a 2-over 74 and closed with a solid 2-under 70.

   Prajunpanich’s Youngstown State teammate, Gonzalez Ortega, landed in the trio tied for eighth place at 1-over as she opened with a 1-under 71 and matched par in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a 72 before finishing up with a 2-over 74.

   Prajunpanich and Gonzalez Ortega led the Penguins, the Horizon League runnerup last spring, to an eighth-place finish in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational with a 39-over 903 total.

   Rounding out the trio tied for eighth place at 1-over was St. John’s Huynh, who had a share of the lead with Harvard’s Vanessa Zhang and Delaware’s Kim going into the final round as Huynh added a 2-under 70 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to her opening-round 71. Huynh backed off a little with a 4-over 76 in the final round.

   Huynh led the Red Storm, the runnerup in the Big East Championship last spring, to a 10^th-place finish at Rehoboth Beach with a 50-over 914 total.

   Backing up Oh for Penn was Adrienne Ahn-Upton, a sophomore from Dallas, Texas who finished among the group tied for 11^th place at 2-over 218. Ahn-Upton sandwiched a 4-over 76 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a pair of solid 1-under 71s.

   Sophia Lu, a freshman from Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif., finished among a trio of players tied for 17^th place at 4-over 220 as she added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to her opening-round 76 before closing with a solid 1-under 71.

   Rounding out the Penn lineup were Mi Li, a sophomore from Orlando, Fla. and Claire Lu, a junior from Edison, N.J., as they finished in the group tied for 27^th place at 226.

   After opening with a 2-over 74, Li added a 77 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before closing with a 75. Claire Lu tallied a pair of 4-over 76s in Saturday’s double round before finishing up with a 74.

   By finishing ahead of six teams in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational, Mark Anderson, in his 18^th season at the helm at Penn, surpassed 1,000 wins with the Quakers.

   Anderson sent out three of his players to compete as individuals, led by Madeline Zhang, a senior from Princeton, N.J. who finished alone in 24^th place with a 7-over 223 total. Madeline Zhang added a solid 1-under 71 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to her opening round of 1-over 73 before closing with a 74.

   Maggie Ni, a sophomore from Cypress, Texas, posted back-to-back 4-under 76s in Saturday’s double round and closed with a 75 to finish in a tie for 32^nd place with a 227 total.

   Rounding out the Penn contingent was Chelsea Nguyen, a senior from Oviedo, Fla. who finished in a tie for 64^th place at 245. After opening with an 85, Nguyen tallied an 81 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before finishing up with a 7-over 79.