MAINEVILLE, Ohio – Junior Sarah Willis (Eaton, Ohio) carded her second-straight under-par round with a 71 on Sunday afternoon to lead Penn State during the final round of the Big Ten Championship. The Nittany Lions registered their second-straight round of 4-over, 292, moving up one spot to finish sixth at 17-over for the championship.
In the 39-year history of the Big Ten Championship, the sixth place finish this weekend marks the fourth-best finish in program history and the best since finishing fourth in 2014.
"We played very consistent this tournament and I feel this was definitely our best performance this spring," commented head coach Denise St. Pierre. "It was very encouraging to see the team's improvement and growth throughout the year."
Michigan State secured the championship finishing at 11-under, five shots clear of a three-way tie for second at 6-under between Maryland, Michigan and Nebraska who used the low round of the day, 7-under, to climb two spots. Northwestern finished fifth at 3-over for the weekend.
Following her season-low 5-under, 67, on Saturday, Willis struggled through the cold, foggy weather early Sunday morning mixing in one birdie between a pair of bogeys over her first four holes. The junior made the necessary adjustments and played the final 14 holes bogey-free at 2-under finishing the round 1-under overall and concluding the tournament with a 3-under, 213, to tie for sixth in the 78-player field.
"I had to make some slight adjustments as the course played longer today. The greens weren't releasing as much and the wind was blowing in a different direction than I anticipated," mentioned Willis. "I got a few putts to drop, but the birdies were a little harder to find today."
Willis' sixth-place finish is the best for a Nittany Lion at the Big Ten Championship since 2018 when Cara Basso finished tied for fourth. It also marks her fifth-career top-10 and is her highest finish since the 2019 Bettie Lou Evans Invitational where she tied for second.
Nebraska's Kate Smith fired a tournament low 8-under, 64, to jump seven spots and secure individual medalist honors after tying the 54-hole championship record with a 9-under, 207, finish.
Senior Megan McLean (Lebanon, N.J.) was the big mover on the day for the Nittany Lions jumping 16 spots into a tie for 36th at 9-over. McLean and sophomore Isha Dhruva (Katy, Texas) each fired 1-over, 73, in the final round. Dhruva finished 32nd at 7-over for the championship.
Freshman Victoria Tip-Aucha (Vienna, Va.) rounded out the team totals in the final round with a 3-over, 75, that included four birdies. Sophomore Mathilde Delavallade (Royan, France) recorded a 4-over, 76, on Sunday finishing the tournament tied for 33rd at 8-over while junior Taylor Waller (Canonsburg, Pa.) shot 7-over, 79, in the final round.
FULL RESULTS
