ORLANDO, Fla. – The Penn State women’s golf team began the spring season the same way they concluded the fall with their fourth-straight top-5 finish concluding the UCF Challenge in fifth place out of 16 teams at 5-under.
The Nittany Lions opened the tournament with a 1-under, 287, and followed that up with a 5-under, 283, in the second round to race up the leaderboard before finishing the week with a 1-over, 289, on Tuesday.
“This was an outstanding way to kick off 2026 and I’m incredibly proud of the team’s performance, highlighted by four players finishing in the top 20,” commented head coach Kristen Simpson. “This week was a true testament to the hard work they’ve put in during the offseason—and they continue to improve every single day.”
Overall, the team’s ball striking was solid all week, and they took advantage of it by rolling in some big putts. We’re excited to keep building off this weekend’s performance,” concluded Simpson.
Auburn secured the championship with a 24-under, 840, team score followed by Mississippi State (20-under), UCF (15-under) and Baylor (10-under) all finishing ahead of Penn State at 5-under, 859. The 5-under score is Penn State’s lowest team score relative to par this season and the lowest since finishing 7-under, 857, at the Westbrook Invitational last February.
The Nittany Lions were paced by sophomore Yaya Jiratthitinun who finished the week at 4-under, 212, and in 13th position in the 96-player field. Yaya opened with a 3-under, 69, her best round of the year and backed that up with a 2-under, 70, before carding 1-over, 73, in the final round. Her score of 4-under is her lowest score relative to par this season.
Sophomore Hannah Rabb also secured her lowest finish relative to par this season with a 2-under, 214, highlighted by back-to-back red figure rounds to close out the week. Rabb concluded the week in 16th position, her third-straight top-20 finish.
Freshman Lillian Guleserian and senior Myranda Quinton each finished the week tied for 17th at even-par. Guleserian fired back-to-back 1-under rounds to close the week while Quinton, playing as an individual, fired a final round 1-under, 71, of her own.
The top-20 finish marks the first for Quinton as the T-17 finish is the best of her career.
Freshmen classmates Audrey Lam and Mara King rounded out the team scoring in 41st and 53rd, respectively at 4-over and 6-over for the week.
Penn State has the next month off before returning to action with the Westbrook Invitational hosted by Wisconsin in Peroia, Arizona on February 22-23.