MELBOURNE, Fla. – Junior Michelle Cox (Allentown, Pa.) secured individual medalist honors at the 2024 Columbia Classic with a 9-under, 207, score to lead Penn State to a runner-up finish in the 16-team field at 10-over, 874, the best finish of the season for the Nittany Lions.
Cox's 9-under score is the lowest of her collegiate career and tied for the third-best 54-hole total in program history as she finished the week four strokes clear of her nearest competitor securing the first tournament victory of her collegiate career.
Cox used three rounds in red figures (69-67-71) to get the job done including tying her career-best with a 5-under, 67, in the second round on Sunday to take sole possession of first place heading into Monday's final round. Her final round started shaky with three bogeys over her first six holes, but she righted the ship using an eagle on the ninth hole to springboard a seven-hole stretch of 5-under vaulting her ahead of the field by a wide margin.
"The wind was making things tough today, but coach Simpson kept telling me to be patient and I couldn't be more appreciative of her sticking by my side. The ship finally steadied, and I got a few shots back toward the middle of my round and that gave me the momentum I needed," mentioned Cox. "The whole round was a grind it out kind of day, so it was definitely a fight. I felt pretty good scrambling all week which was great but there were some moments in there that tested my patience."
As a team the Nittany Lions had their best finish of the year with a 10-over, 874, score earning runner-up accolades just three shots back of Yale at 7-over. Old Dominion (13-over), Kennesaw State (26-over) and Dartmouth (34-over) rounded out the top-5.
Penn State used a 7-under, 281, as a team during Sunday's second round to jump into the lead at days end. The 7-under score was the lowest score of the week by any team and tied for the fourth-lowest 18-hole total in program history. It was also the lowest round of the season for the Nittany Lions.
Junior Drew Nienhaus (St. Louis, Mo.) carded her first career top-10 finish using a final round 2-under, 70, to finish the week 1-under, 215, and in a tie for sixth.
Graduate student Mathilde Delavallade (Royan, France) had her best finish of the season in a tie for 18th at 7-over, 223, highlighted by a second round 3-under, 69.
Graduate Carlota Garcia (Salamanca, Spain) also had her best round on Sunday firing an even-par, 72, en route to a 13-over, 229, score to finish the week tied for 36th.
Senior Victoria Tip-Aucha (Vienna, Va.) and junior Jami Morris (Chagrin Falls, Ohio), playing as an individual, finished the week 26-over and 35-over, respectively.
Penn State now has three weeks off before resuming play with a Spring Break trip to the Juli Inkster Invitational in San Jose, California on March 4-5 before wrapping up the trip in Charleston, South Carolina at the Briar's Creek Invitational on March 11-12.
Full Columbia Classic Results
