UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's golf head coach Denise St. Pierre begins her 21st season at the helm of the Nittany Lion program on Sunday, Sept. 9 when the team opens the season at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C. The tournament continues through Sept. 11 and will feature 24 teams competing in the three round tournament. The teams are competing on the 6,219-yard par-72 Yeaman's Hall Course, which is located at the Yeaman's Hall Golf Club.
Thirteen of the top 25 teams from the final 2011-12 Golfweek rankings will be playing in the tournament, including No.2 Alabama, No.3 USC, No.4 and 2011 Cougar Classic Team Champion LSU, No.6 North Carolina, No.7 Auburn, No.8 Duke, No.9 Vanderbilt, No.12 Georgia, No.13 Florida, No.15 Tennessee, No.18 South Carolina, No.21 Virginia, and No.23 N.C. State. In addition, the College of Charleston, Charleston Southern, Furman, Maryland, Miami University, Mississippi University, UCF, UNC Greensboro, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin are also in the mix.
The Nittany Lions return all but one player from last season and are led by seniors Courtney Kordes (Natrona Heights, Pa.), Jamie Lavin (Deerfield, Ill.), and Emily Ransone (Hilliard, Ohio). Five of the returning Nittany Lions saw action in at least 20 rounds during the 2011-12 season. Joining the seniors are juniors Ellen Ceresko (Jefferson Township, Pa.) and Christina Vosters (Bethany Beach, Del.), sophomores Elyse Archambault (St-Jean-sur-Rich, Que.), Katlyn Elliott (Peterborough, Ont.), Catherine Herrera (Houston, Texas) and Erin Michel (Mason, Ohio). New to the team this year is freshman Grace Chung (Ontario, Canada).
Penn State remains on the road for the Yale Intercollegiate on Sept. 22-23 before hosting the Nittany Lion Invitational on Sept. 28-30 on the Penn State Golf Courses.