ORLANDO, Fla. – Paced by senior Cara Basso's (Downingtown, Pa.) final round 3-under, 69, the Penn State women's golf team jumped three spots to finish ninth in the 16-team field at the UCF Challenge following an 8-under, 280, tying for the low-round of the day at the Eagle Creek Golf Club.
The Nittany Lions finished the tournament with a 54-hole program record score of 858 (6-under) and were right behind fellow Big Ten schools Purdue (8-under, 856) and Michigan State (7-under, 857). This marks the first time in program history that Penn State has finished in red figures twice in a season after earning second place at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational last fall with a score of 860 (4-under).
The final round score of 280 is also the third lowest 18-hole score in program history each of which has occurred since the start of the 2018 fall season a mere five months ago.
"The weather was beautiful today, it was a perfect day to go low and they made the most of it," commented head coach Denise St. Pierre. "It was a true team effort, they played with poise and focus and I am very proud of how they finished the tournament today."
Vanderbilt ran away from the field with a 7-under final round finishing 23-under (841) eight strokes clear of second place as both Miami and Kent State tied at 15-under (849) sharing runner-up honors. Kent State climbed three spots to earn second place while Old Dominion also made a strong move improving four spots and finishing in fourth at 11-under (853) after a 7-under final round. Kennesaw State rounds out the top five finishing fifth with a score of 855 (9-under).
Basso's round of 69 marks her ninth round of even-par or better so far this season as she finished the tournament tied for 42nd with a 2-over score of 218. After an opening bogey, the senior rattled off four consecutive birdies and five of her next six. Basso finished the day with six birdies and three bogeys.
"I made some changes with my putting setup between yesterday and today, so I had a lot of confidence with my putter," mentioned Basso. "During that early stretch I was sticking my approach shots close and giving myself some good birdie looks to gain momentum."
Senior Jackie Rogowicz (Yardley, Pa.) carded her third-straight round of even-par or better with a 1-under score of 71 finishing in a tie for 12th following a 54-hole score of 212 (4-under). Junior Megan McLean (Lebanon, N.J.) also shot three consecutive rounds of even-par or better finishing the tournament with back-to-back rounds of 1-under, 71, to land in a tie for 20th position at 2-under (214). This marks the first time in her collegiate career she has finished under par as the 214 becomes a new career low 54-hole score.
Freshman Sarah Willis (Eaton, Ohio) kept the big numbers off her score card as she registered a bogey-free round of 69 (3-under) her fourth round this year of 69 or better while senior Lauren Waller (Canonsburg, Pa.) rounded out the team score with a 3-over score of 75.
Playing as an individual, junior Maddy Herr (New Hope, Pa.) sandwiched her second round of 1-under, 71, between her 75 from yesterday to finish the tournament with her best score this season of 1-over (217) and in a tie for 33rd.
As a team the Nittany Lions registered 21 birdies finishing the tournament with 54 adding to their growing total from the fall which now stands at 283. If interested in pledging to our 'Birdies For The Heart' initiative please fill our THIS FORM or email head coach Denise St. Pierre at dxs10@psu.edu.
Penn State takes the next month off before resuming its season with a spring break trip to the River Landing in Wilmington, N.C. on March 4-5 before a return trip to Florida for the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. on March 9 and 10.