GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Penn State women's golf team concludes its spring break trip when they participate in the Gator Invitational at the Par 70, 6,701 yard Mark Bostick Golf Course on Saturday and Sunday.
For head coach Denise St. Pierre this is her first time taking the Nittany Lions to this tournament, so each player will be seeing the course for the first time in their collegiate careers. The Bostick Course has been home to the Florida Gators since the 1960's and has served as the site of the Gator Invitational since 1978.
The 13-team field features three teams in the top-25 nationally led by the host Gators at No. 8 along with No. 20 Clemson and No. 24 Miami. Along with Penn State (No. 42), Campbell (No. 34), Tennessee (No. 40) and UCF (No. 50) are each ranked inside the top-50 while East Carolina, College of Charleston, NC State, Ohio State, FIU, and Daytona State round out the field.
The teams will play 36 holes of continuous play on Saturday with an 8:15 a.m. shotgun start followed by a single 18-hole round on Sunday concluding the tournament with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State opened the week at the River Landing Classic in Wallace, N.C. finishing tied for sixth after the final two rounds were cancelled due to snow and scores reverted back to the opening round totals.
- The Nittany Lions finished 13-over with a score of 291 led by senior (Yardley, Pa.) with a 1-over score of 73 as she tied for eighth recording her third top-10 finish this season.
- Senior classmates Cara Basso (Downingtown, Pa.) and Lauren Waller (Canonsburg, Pa.) each carded opening rounds of 75 (3-over) to finish tied for 26th.
- As a team the Nittany Lions registered 7 birdies adding to their growing total from the fall which now stands at 290. If interested in pledging to our 'Birdies For The Heart' initiative please fill our or email head coach at .
THE TEAM
- Coach St. Pierre isn't making any changes from her starting lineup as Rogowicz, Basso and Waller will join junior Megan McLean (Labanon, N.J.) and freshman Sarah Willis (Eaton, Ohio) in the starting five while junior Maddy Herr (New Hope, Pa.) will once again compete as an individual.
- Basso leads the team with a 72.41 stroke average including nine rounds of even-par or better this season and three top-10's including a pair of runner-up finishes. Willis is second on the team with a 73.24 stroke average and has the lone individual first place honor with her record-setting Nittany Lion Invitational Championship. Rogowicz joined Basso with her third top-10 finish earlier this week improving her stroke average to 73.29.
- As a team, the Nittany Lions are averaging 291.76 per round and have four top-5 finishes in seven events so far this season. Penn State's stroke average is down more than four shots per round from its 2017-18 total of 295.77.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State travels to the Briar's Creek Invitational next week in South Carolina for a Monday-Tuesday tournament on March 18 and 19.