ORLANDO, Fla. – Sophomore Sarah Willis (Eaton, Ohio) shot 2-under (70) during the opening round of the UCF Challenge on Sunday morning as Penn State currently sits tied for fifth at 2-over (290). Willis sits tied for fifth just four strokes behind the leaders.
"I just wanted to keep things simple today and focus on hitting fairways and greens," mentioned Willis. "I was able to take advantage of my birdie opportunities and I eliminated mistakes."
Willis started her day on the 13th hole and following her lone bogey on the 18th, she finished 3-under over her final 12 holes including a bogey-free front nine of 2-under (33). Freshman Mathilde Delavallade (Royan, France) and senior Maddy Herr (New Hope, Pa.) each shot 1-under (71) and sit in a tie for 11th. Herr also had a bogey-free front nine shooting 2-under (33) while Delavallade birdied her first hole of the day and carded a bogey-free back nine shooting 1-under (36).
Freshman classmates Isha Dhruva (Katy, Texas) and Lauren Freyvogel (Gibsonia, Pa.) each shot 6-over (78) while junior Olivia Zambruno (Mt. Pleasant, Pa.) rounded out the team scores with an 8-over (80).
"The wind was up today which definitely made scoring low more difficult," commented head coach Denise St. Pierre. "The team was very poised and everyone hit some great shots and our overall putting was excellent. Tournament play is still very new for some of them, but I'm confident they will settle in."
The Nittany Lions head back out on the course tomorrow morning for the second round with another 8:45 a.m. shotgun start.