March 1, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
The Penn State women's golf team comes off of a 16th place finish at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic and will now head to Rio Verde, Ariz., for its second straight trip to the Rio Verde Invitational. The Nittany Lions finished in 15th at the tournament last year. Western Michigan will be hosting the tournament from Fri.-Sun., March 4-6.
"We are very excited to be coming back to Rio Verde, not just for the tournament but to reacquaint with all the wonderful friends we have met there," said head coach Denise St. Pierre. "It truly is a unique and enjoyable experience for us all."
Penn State will take six golfers to participate in the tournament. Sophomore Emily Ransone (Hilliard, Ohio) will make her seventh tournament appearance this season and currently holds a team-leading 75.6 strokes-per-round average. Sophomore Hanule Sky Seo (St. Louis, Mo.) holds the second-best average with a 76.6 and will also compete for the Nittany Lions.
Gia Fanelli (West Palm Beach, Fla.) will be the only senior starter in the lineup, and one of four golfers to compete in every tournament this season for Penn State. Freshman Ellen Ceresko (Jefferson Township, Pa.) will bring her 76.7 average, and freshman Christina Vosters (Bethany Beach, Del.) will make her fourth tournament appearance. Senior Giulia Carando (Torino, Italy) will compete as an individual.
The tournament will consist of 17 teams, five of which are ranked in the Golfstat.com top 100. Arkansas-Little Rock leads the field with a No. 48 ranking. Michigan joins Penn State as the two Big Ten teams competing. The tournament will take place at the par 72, 6,316-yard White Wing Course. The tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. MT on Friday, March 4.