Sept. 7, 2015
By Ryan Hickey, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Last season, the Penn State women's golf team had a veteran group, led by five seniors. With those key seniors departing, head coach Denise St. Pierre knew there would be some question marks on where that production would come from in 2015-16.
The head coach may have found her answer Sunday during a superb outing on Penn State's home course. For the 20th time overall and first since 2012, the Blue and White captured the Nittany Lion Invitational, finishing six strokes ahead of second-place Delaware.
"It's fantastic. It's always good to be at home, but it's even better to keep the trophy at home," said St. Pierre.
St. Pierre highlighted how impressed she was with the makeup of this team, as they had less than two weeks of being back on campus and practice time to get ready for this tournament.
"Coming out of the gates only having a week-and-a-half under our belts with us being together shows a lot already the dynamic of this team. They are just like glue already, so I am really proud of them," said St. Pierre.
The Nittany Lions had four golfers finish in the top 10, highlighted by freshman Jackie Rogowicz's runner-up finish. The Yardley, Pa., native made an eagle on the 18th hole as she finished 1-over par for the tournament.
Rogowicz, playing in her first collegiate tournament, explained some of the big differences between playing this weekend and playing in a junior golf tournament.
"It's different. I've never played golf on a real team, so you feel obligated to your team to play well, so it's not so much for yourself anymore as much as it is for the team," said Rogowicz.
St. Pierre knew the impact that the freshman could make and is not surprised that Rogowicz was near the top of the leaderboard.
"We knew Jackie [Rogowicz] could come in and make a difference in the collegiate level for sure," said St. Pierre. "I'm sure she's going to learn a lot from a couple of things that happened to her today that will make her a better player."
One of the two seniors on the team, Halley Morell, carried over her great play from the summer into the fall as she recorded a fourth-place finish, shooting 6-over par for the tournament.
"Halley has been so committed and loves the game so much. I really admire her attitude and demeanor on the course," said St. Pierre. "She never gives up, no matter what and she's always ready to go after the next hole. She's a great one to have on our team."
Another freshman, Lauren Waller, tied for fifth overall by shooting eight strokes over par. Sophomore Ariana Coyle Diez rounded out the final Nittany Lion to finish in the top 10 as the Dublin, Ireland, native tied for ninth with an 11-over par.
St. Pierre cited the fact that she didn't know what to expect from such a young team this early on in the season.
"You don't know really what to expect, no matter what you tell them. I give them a ton of credit for being very mature given this situation and I think they are well beyond their years."
St. Pierre credits the senior leadership of Morell and Grace Chung for helping the freshmen become acclimated to the college game and getting them ready for this past weekend.
"I think they have jelled very well so far right from the get-go. The players look up to them and in return, the seniors have respect for the underclassmen. It's a mutual respect."
The Nittany Lions are back on the links September 13-15 as the Blue and White travels to Charleston, S.C., to partake in the Cougar Classic.