FAIRFAX, Calif. – The Penn State women's golf team begins its Spring Break trip on the left coast competing for the first time at the Juli Inkster Invitational co-hosted by The University of San Fransisco and San Jose State University at the Meadow Club in Fairfax, California.
The two-day event features shotgun starts on both days with 36 holes of continuous play beginning at 8:15 a.m. on Monday and the final round slated for 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the par-72, 6,157-yard Meadow Club.
Live scoring for the duration of the tournament will be available HERE.
THE COURSE
- Located in beautiful Marin County, California, situated below Mount Tamalpais and surrounded by an all-natural environment without the distractions of a typical urban setting with the open, natural beauty of the Bon Tempe meadow.
- The golf course, as designed by Alister MacKenzie and Robert Hunter in 1927, utilizes meandering creeks, subtle elevation changes, and broad vistas.
LAST TIME OUT
- Junior Michelle Cox 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.
- 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.
- 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.
COX ON A ROLL
- Cox was named the Big Ten Women's Golfer of the Week following her first-place finish at the 2024 Columbia Classic.
- 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 while securing her first collegiate victory.
- 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.
- The Allentown, Pennsylvania native is in the midst of a career-year leading the team with a 71.39 stroke average with three top-10's in six events. Cox has been most impressive in the opening round of a tournament this season posting five opening rounds in the 60's with a 69.33 stroke average.
THE TEAM
- Penn State's lineup remains consistent from the first two events of the spring as graduate students Mathilde Delavallade (Royan, France) and Carlota Garcia (Salamanca, Spain) are joined by Cox and classmate Drew Nienhaus (St. Louis, Mo.) with senior Victoria Tip-Aucha (Vienna, Va.) slotting into the final spot in the lineup.
- Cox, who paces the team with a 71.39 stroke average, is followed by Nienhaus close behind with a 72.61 stroke average this season securing her first top-10 finish last month at the Columbia Classic finishing 1-under, 215, and tied for sixth.
- Cox has been at or under par in 10 of her 18 rounds this season while Nienhaus has seen seven such rounds. The rest of the team has combined for just six such rounds so far.
OPPONENTS
- Penn State is the lone Big Ten team and lone East Coast team in the field this week joining BYU, California, Colorado, Denver, Oregon State, Sacramento State, San Diego State, San Francisco, San Jose State, Stanford, USC, Washington and Washington State in the 14-team field.
NEXT UP
Penn State concludes its Spring Break trip in Charleston, South Carolina at the Briar's Creek Invitational on March 11-12.