ORLANDO, Fla. – Sophomore Drew Nienhaus (St. Louis, Mo.) carded a career-low, 3-under, 69, to pace the Penn State women's golf team to a 1-under, 287, in the final round of the UCF Challenge on Tuesday afternoon at Eagle Creek Golf Club. The Nittany Lions finished the week at 2-under, 862, and tied for 12th in the 18-team field.
The 2-under finish for the Nittany Lions is the second-lowest 54-hole total of the season just one stroke off the 3-under final that captured the Nittany Lion Invitational crown back in September.
Wake Forest used the low score of the day to climb back into the lead and secure the championship at 42-under with Mississippi State finishing four strokes back at 38-under. Northwestern (37-under), UCF (27-under) and Kentucky (20-under) rounded out the top-5.
Nienhaus dialed in her irons in the final round rattling off back-to-back birdies out of the gate and finished her final 14 holes bogey-free to post her 3-under score as she climbed 29 spots on the leaderboard finishing tied for 37th in the 96-player field.
"I felt really confident in my swing and new irons hitting a lot of fairways and making a lot of putts made today a lot of fun," commented Nienhaus. "I was just really confident and tried to remain calm throughout the round while keeping my head up and smiling my way through."
Senior Sarah Willis (Eaton, Ohio) capped off her 14th career top-20 finish in a tie for 17th following her second bogey-free, 2-under, 70, of the week. Willis' 54-hole total of 6-under, 210, is the second lowest of her career and the fifth lowest in program history.
Playing as an individual, senior Taylor Waller (Canonsburg, Pa.) carded the best 54-hole total of her career this week with rounds of 71-73-74—218 (2-over).
Senior Isha Dhruva (Katy, Texas) finished the day strong with three birdies over her final seven holes to conclude the day 1-over, 73, while sophomore Michelle Cox (Allentown, Pa.) and senior Mathilde Delavallade (Royan, France) each carded rounds of 3-over, 75, to round out the day.
Penn State returns to the Sunshine State in a few days to compete in the Columbia Classic in Melbourne on February 11-13.
Complete results available HERE.
