March 30, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State finished their final round of regular season play with a 319 at the Bryan National Collegiate. The Nittany Lions finished in a tie for tenth with fellow Big Ten team Michigan State. The blue and white finished the tournament with 916 (300-297-319) strokes, equaling 52 shots over par. "We hung in with some great teams and beat some teams in the Top 20," said head coach Denise St. Pierre. "I know the team felt bad about today's round, but we were only three shots out of fifth place."
All of the teams were forced to deal with terrible weather conditions as there was light sleet in the morning with temperatures in the low 40s. The wind played the biggest factor as there was a stiff, 20 mph wind with gusts reaching in the 30-40 mph range.
Junior Ellen Ceresko (Jefferson Township, Pa.) recorded a third round 81 to give her 224 (73-70-81) shots. Ceresko notched her team high fifth Top-15 finish of the season as she tied for 12th. The Jefferson Township native finished the tournament at eight strokes over par. Senior Christina Vosters (Bethany Beach, Del.) tied for 42nd as she recorded a final round 80. Sophomore Grace Chung (Ontario, Canada) and junior Catherine Herrera (Houston, Texas) recorded the low rounds of the day for the Nittany Lions as both shot final round 79's.
"I think all in all, this was excellent preparation for us, not only for Big Ten's but hopefully NCAA's. This field was very similar to an NCAA Regional site," said St. Pierre. "This should boost our ranking and help our chances for post season play. We are happy to have some prep time for Big Ten's and plan to focus our attention on getting ready for a demanding golf course at French Lick."
Duke lead the tournament wire to wire and captured the team championship. The Blue Devils finished the tournament at 18 strokes over par after recording a final round 300. Celine Boutier of Duke won the individual championship as she was the only golfer to finish at even par.
The Penn State women's golf team has a few weeks off to prepare for the Big Ten Championship. Big Ten's take place in French Lick, Indiana beginning on April 25. Follow women's golf on Facebook at Penn State Women's Golf and on Twitter @PennStateWGolf.