UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's golf team clawed its way from third to second during the final round of the 43rd annual Nittany Lion Invitational at the Penn State Blue Course on Sunday morning.
The Nittany Lions started on fire going 4-under through the opening nine holes of action as senior classmates Maddy Herr (New Hope, Pa.) and Megan McLean (Lebanon, N.J.) along with freshman Mathilde Delavallade (Royan, France) each fired a bogey free front nine.
Penn was able to fend off the Nittany Lion surge and hold on for the victory finishing 4-over (868) while Penn State came in second at 12-over (876) following a 1-over final round of 289. Seton Hall finished third at 14-over (878) with Rutgers (32-over) and High Point (35-over) rounded out the top-5.
There was a three-way tie for the individual champion at 2-under (214) between Seton Hall's Sarah Fouratt and Madeline Sager along with High Point's Samantha Vodry while Penn's Abigail Wiranatha finished as the sole runner-up at 1-under (215).
Delavallade carded her third-straight round of 1-over 73 and finished the tournament in a tie for eighth at 3-over (219). Herr registered a lone double-bogey on the back-nine surrounded by all pars finishing the final round at even-par and finishing the tournament in a tie for 14th at 6-over (222). McLean finished the day 1-under shooting a 71 and ended the weekend in a tie for 17th at 8-over (224).
Junior Olivia Zambruno (Mt. Pleasant, Pa.) also fired a final round 73 and tied for eighth on the week with a 3-over score of 219 after a bogey-free back-nine on Sunday. Sophomore Sarah Willis (Eaton, Ohio) rounded out the team score with a final-round 75, rebounding from a tough front nine posting 2-under on her inward nine.
Playing as an individual, senior Ashni Dhruva (Katy, Texas) turned in a 1-under final round score of 71 finishing the tournament in 21st position at 9-over (225) while freshman Lauren Freyvogel (Gibsonia, Pa.) finished tied for 26th in her first collegiate tournament following a final round 4-over (76). Redshirt-freshman Taylor Waller (Canonsburg, Pa.) finished her tournament with a 6-over round of 78.
Penn State carded 23 birdies on Sunday bringing its weekend total to 54.
The Nittany Lions return to action next weekend at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in Lexington, Kentucky on Friday-Sunday.
FINAL RESULTS
