UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's golf team is sitting atop the leaderboard following the opening two rounds of the 46th annual Nittany Lion Invitational on Saturday at the Penn State Blue Course. The Nittany Lions are looking to become champions for the fifth time over their last seven home invitationals while becoming repeat champs for a second time during that span.
Penn State used the round of the day in its second 18 holes of the afternoon posting a 6-under, 282, during the second round and currently sit 5-under and are the only team in red figures for the championship.
Boston College is currently second at 6-over while Kennesaw State (11-over), Youngstown State (18-over) and Eastern Kentucky (21-over) round out the top-5.
"I loved that we looked fresh during round two, the team was ready for a long day," commented head coach Denise St. Pierre. "They were prepared, and it showed, I'm very proud of this group."
Senior Mathilde Delavallade (Royan, France), who is defending her 2021 Individual Championship, is just two strokes off the lead after backing up an even-par, 72, with a 3-under, 69, in the second round. Delavallade trails Toledo's Amelia Lee for the individual lead.
"My approach shots were closer, and I was more confident in my putting during the second round," mentioned Delavallade. "The first round was a little rough mentally, so I just tried to be more present throughout the course of the second round."
Sophomore Drew Nienhaus (St. Louis, Mo.) climbed an even 10 spots between rounds and currently sits tied for sixth at 1-under for the championship. After an opening round 1-over, 73, Nienhaus opened her second 18 with a birdie and used three additional birdies with only a pair of bogeys to register a 2-under, 70, in round two.
Senior Sarah Willis (Eaton, Ohio) took a while to find her swing during the morning round registering back-to-back bogeys on her second two holes of the day. However, she used a nine-hole stretch of 4-under in the middle portion of her opening round, highlighted by a hole-out Eagle on the ninth, to right the ship. After giving a few back on 13 and 14 she carded two birdies over her final two holes finishing the round with a 1-under, 71. Following a second round 1-over, 73, Willis is currently sitting eighth at even-par for the championship.
The big mover of the day was sophomore Michelle Cox (Allentown, Pa.) who climbed 33 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 10th after carding a career-low 2-under, 70 in the second round. Cox is currently 2-over for the championship.
"I had a lot of encouragement from coach and my teammates between rounds and I felt a lot more comfortable and confident during the second round of the day," stated Cox. "I was just having fun out there and smiling a lot and it really kept the momentum rolling. I'm feeling great and I'm very excited for tomorrow."
Senior Isha Dhruva (Katy, Texas) closed out the team scoring with rounds of 73 and 74 and sits 3-over after 36 holes and tied for 14th with a pair of her teammates, junior Lauren Freyvogel (Gibsonia, Pa.) and sophomore Katie Scheck (Greensboro, Ga.)
Junior Victoria Tip-Aucha (Vienna, Va.) fired a 2-under, 70, in the opening round and currently sits tied for 22nd at 4-over after sliding a bit in the second round.
Freshman Myranda Quinton (Burlington, Ontario) made her Nittany Lion Debut with rounds of 75 and 74 and sits tied for 27th at 5-over after two rounds.
Sophomore Jami Morris (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and senior Taylor Waller (Canonsburg, Pa.) round out the individual scoring at 14-over and 15-over, respectively.
The Nittany Lions are back on the course with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start tomorrow in the final round of the 2022 Nittany Lion Invitational at the Penn State Blue Course.
Full Day 1 Results
