UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – After a weekend off following a hurricane-shortened Cougar Classic the Penn State Nittany Lions are eager to get back to competition as they host the 42nd annual Nittany Lion Invitational at the Penn State Blue Course on Saturday, September 22 and Sunday, September 23.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State competed in the Cougar Classic from September 9-11 finishing tied for 11th in the 19 team field with the championship being completed after just 36 holes due to the approach of Hurricane Florence.
Senior Jackie Rogowicz (Yardley, Pa.) led the team shooting two even par rounds of 72 to finish tied for 28th.
THE TEAM
With a dominantly Pennsylvania based team, this will be the only chance for the girls to play close to home in front of family and friends. Three Pennsylvanians will crack the starting five while a total of five will be in action this weekend donning the Blue and White.
Head Coach Denise St. Pierre has made one change from her Cougar Classic lineup and has inserted junior Megan McLean (Lebanon, N.J.) after her rounds of 69 (3-under) and 71 (1-under) during this week's qualifying.
"Megan really stepped up during our qualifying rounds and played the best out of any of our players," commented St. Pierre.
McLean golfed in seven events last season posting a 78.10 stroke average with her best finish coming at the Blue Hen Invitational where she finished tied for 18th.
Joining McLean is Rogowicz along with senior classmates Cara Basso (Downingtown, Pa.) and Lauren Waller (Canonsburg, Pa.) who remain in the top three spots of the lineup, respectively, while junior Ashni Dhruva (Katy, Tx.) makes her second consecutive tournament start and is slotted in at No. 4.
This weekend Penn State will also have four individual golfers as freshman Sarah Willis (Eaton, Ohio), Sophomore Olivia Zambruno (Mt. Pleasant, Pa.), junior Maddy Herr (New Hope, Pa.) and senior Kamerine Taylor (Dublin, Ohio) will also compete to try and become the individual medalist.
ABOUT THE NLI
- The first-ever Nittany Lion Invitational was played in 1974 with this weekend marking the 28th consecutive year the tournament has been held and the 20th year in-a-row during the fall season.
- Overall the tournament has been held in the fall 28 times while taking place during the spring season on 13 different occasions with the last being in 1999.
- Penn State has captured 21 tournament crowns including four of the last eight. The Nittany Lions earned the team championship in 2015 and 2016 before finishing second to Maryland last September.
- Penn State has had 13 individual medalists with the most recent being Ellen Ceresko back in 2012, the Nittany Lions also earned the team championship that season.
2018 NITTANY LION INVITATIONAL FIELD
- Sixteen teams descend on Happy Valley this weekend for the 42nd Nittany Lion Invitational with half the field having competed in the 2017 event.
- Maryland who captured the championship last year is not making a return trip to defend their title, but fellow Big Ten foe Rutgers is making the return along with Bucknell, Ohio, Penn, Seton Hall, Yale and Youngstown State.
- Eight new teams will be taking to the course this weekend including No. 16 Washington. The Huskies are making their first-ever trip to the Keystone State.
- Other new teams include division II power Rollins College along with Akron, Georgetown, High Point, Santa Clara, Navy and Xavier.
- The teams will compete in two rounds on Saturday with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. followed by the final round on Sunday with another 9 a.m. shotgun start.
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NEXT UP
Penn State will test its strength at a new tournament next weekend as they travel to the Princeton Invitational on Saturday and Sunday.