ORLANDO, Fla. – Junior Olivia Zambruno (Mt. Pleasant, Pa.) carded a career-low 1-under (71) during the final round of the UCF Challenge as the Nittany Lions finished ninth in a loaded field at 10-over (874), their lowest 54-hole total this season. Penn State carded 7-over (295) as a team in the final round.
No. 3 Kent State used an impressive 13-under (275) final round to secure the championship with a 54-hole total of 21-under (843) while No. 13 Michigan State finished second at 15-under (849). Miami rounded out the top-3 at 14-under (850) while Oklahoma State used the low-round of the week firing 14-under (274) finishing fourth at 12-under (852). Sacramento State rounded out the top-5 at 6-under (858) for the week.
Zambruno recovered nicely from an opening bogey on the eighth going 2-under over her next 14 holes including back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 to card a bogey-free 2-under back nine en route to her career-low round. The junior finished the tournament 9-over and in a tie for 62nd.
"There was a little more wind today, so I really had to focus in and hit more knockdown shots," mentioned Zambruno. "My putting was better today, and I sank a few nice birdie putts."
Sophomore Sarah Willis (Eaton, Ohio) was Penn State's low player this week finishing tied for 21st at 1-under (215) for the tournament following a 4-over (76) on the final day. Freshman Mathilde Delavallade (Royan, France) shot 2-over (74) in the final round finishing the tournament in a tie for 33rd at 1-over (217).
Freshman Isha Dhurva (Katy, Texas) improved during each round this week finishing the tournament 12-over (228) following a career-low 2-over (74) on Tuesday. Dhruva carded a bogey-free, even-par front nine 35 en route to her best round of the season.
"We struggled a bit hitting greens today and then we weren't recovering that well," commented head coach Denise St. Pierre. "I'm very proud of Olivia [Zambruno] and it was nice to see Isha [Dhruva] improve her score each round this week. It shows she's already getting comfortable and it was only her first time in the lineup this season."
Senior Maddy Herr (New Hope, Pa.) and freshman Lauren Freyvogel (Gibsonia, Pa.) rounded out the day with rounds of 7-over (79) and 9-over (81), respectively.
As a team Penn State had 10 birdies bringing its tournament total to 36 led by 10 from Delavallade and eight from Willis.
The Nittany Lions take the next month off before returning to action at the Hurricane Invitational in Coral Gables, Florida on March 1-3.
FULL ROUND THREE RESULTS
