JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Penn State women's golf team shot up the leaderbord during the final round of the UNF Collegiate on Tuesday morning gaining eight spots to finish sixth in the 17-team field after firing a 2-under, 286, at the Jacksonville Golf and Country Club.
The Nittany Lions were 8-under at the midway point of the final round and although they gave a few shots back coming in they still tied for the low round of the day as one of just three teams in red figures on Tuesday morning.
"After yesterday, our goal was to be the best team out on the course today," commented head coach Denise St. Pierre. "It's easy to hang your head or press too hard, but as the course played tougher today, I'm proud of how the group stuck together and played consistently as a team."
Sam Houston State tied the Nittany Lions at 2-under for the day and finished the week as the only team in red figures at 14-under to secure the title. Furman finished second at even-par while Western Kentucky and North Florida tied for third at 10-over and Xavier rounded out the top-5 at 11-over.
Senior Isha Dhruva (Katy, Texas) led the charge as the big mover of the day climbing 30 spots on her own with a 2-under, 70, in the final round to finish the week tied for 23rd at 4-over. Dhruva had just one bogey with three birdies on the day including a clean card on the back nine to tie her low round of the year.
"I was a lot more relaxed today and my irons were accurate which made the round much easier," mentioned Dhruva. "We did a good job of staying cool and coming back strong as a team today."
Sophomore Drew Nienhaus (St. Louis, Mo.) along with senior classmates Sarah Willis (Eaton, Ohio) and Mathilde Delavallade (Royan, France) each carded even-par rounds of 72 to round out the countable team scores for the day and account for the 2-under team total.
Delavallade was Penn State's highest individual finisher in a tie for 18th at 3-over while Nienhaus tied with Dhruva in 23rd position. Willis climbed 23 spots and into a tie for 39th for the week.
Senior Taylor Waller (Canonsburg, Pa.) and sophomore Michelle Cox (Allentown, Pa.) rounded out the day with scores of 76 and 79, respectively.
Penn State will remain in the Sunshine State for a few days before making the short trip north to South Carolina for the Briar's Creek Invitational on March 13-14.
Final results available HERE.
