PALM HARBOR, Fla. – The Penn State women's golf team concluded the Big Ten Match Play Tournament with a 4-2 win over Rutgers on Tuesday morning at the Innisbrook Resort's Island Course.
Northwestern, who defeated the Nittany Lions in the opening round yesterday, won the event with a 4-2 victory over Purdue.
"We played solid today I'm very proud of the team," commented head coach Denise St. Pierre. "We had a beautiful day to play, and we made the most of it. Each match was either won by a large margin or very competitive to the end."
The Nittany Lions were led by freshman Drew Nienhaus (St. Louis, Mo.) who needed just 12 holes to defeat her opponent 7&6. Nienhaus, beginning the day on hole 10, started quick winning the first three holes of the match and carried a 6Up lead into the turn where she added a pair of wins on the first and third holes bringing the match to a close after just 12 holes of competition.
"Today I really just tried to go out and have some fun and put a smile on my face," Nienhaus mentioned. "I was feeling really confident and my play off the tee today really helped me win a bunch of holes."
Junior Mathilde Delavallade (Royan, France) also impressed from the top of the lineup winning her match 4&3. After dropping the first hole of her match, Delavallade won seven of the next nine holes including a stretch of five-straight to race out to a big lead. The junior gave a few back on the way in but secured a win on the fourth hole, her 15th of the day to bring the match to a close.
After a pair of wins on day one, freshman Katie Scheck (Greensboro, Ga.) capped off the week going 3-0-0 with a 3&2 victory on Tuesday. Scheck won the first hole of the match but was 1Down through 11 holes before rattling off wins on four of the last five holes capping the victory with a birdie on the sixth hole to end the match.
Senior Taylor Waller (Canonsburg, Pa.) also won her match 2&1. After starting quick winning the first hole she went 1Down before battling back to a 1Up lead through nine holes and following a consistent back-nine she used a par on the par-5 seventh hole to lock up the win.
Freshman Jami Morris (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) showed determination in her match after dropping four of the first six holes to open the match the rookie rattled off four-straight wins pulling the match back even as she stood on the second tee box, her 11th hole of the day. A back-and-forth affair over the final eight holes led to a slim one-hole defeat.
Junior Isha Dhruva (Katy, Texas) rounded out the group falling 5&3 in her match.
Penn State will return to the Sunshine State next weekend for the UCF Challenge from Sunday through Tuesday in Orlando.
Full Day 2 Results
