By Marissa Masano / The Jambar
The Youngstown State women’s golf team concluded its fall season at the Lady Blue Hen Invitational, hosted by the University of Delaware on Oct. 19-20.
The Penguins finished seventh out of 10 teams with a three-round total of 913.
YSU’s top performer was senior Lizzie Saur, who is coming off a season-low, one-over-par performance at the Butler Fall Invitational.
Saur tied for 12th with a three-round score of 221. Her best round came in the second, where she shot an even-par 72 with four birdies. Saur’s individual three-round scores were 75-72-74.
Sophomore Neeranuch Prajunpanich was the Penguins’ next-highest finisher, tying for 21st with a three-round total of 226. Prajunpanich, who recently broke a school record, delivered her best performance in the third round, shooting a two-over-par 74 with four birdies.
Freshman Sofia Perez Escarcena followed on the leaderboard, finishing with a three-round score of 232. In the third round, she matched her career low, shooting a one-over-par 73.
Freshman Valentina Pena Anaya tied for 43rd with a three-round total of 234, while junior Adena Rugola rounded out the Penguins’ lineup with a total of 252.
For Saur, she accredits adjustments made by the team to put together a strong Day Two.
“The greens we played were very fast compared to what we are used to playing. We had to play more breaks and focus on dying putts in the hole instead of hitting them firm. I believe this helped us to end the tournament with a strong team score in round three,” Saur said.
Delaware claimed first place with a three-round team total of 881, besting Quinnipiac University by one stroke. The Bobcats secured second place with an 882 total.
Delaware senior Alisa Khokhlova defended her individual title, finishing first with a three-round total of 211.
At the end of Day One, the Penguins sat in ninth place with a two-round total of 615, scoring 310 and 305 in the first and second rounds, respectively.
Saur ended Day One tied for 11th. She recorded rounds of 75 and 72 for a total of 147. Prajunpanich shot 77 and 75, with a 24th-place finish.
As the team now begins to prepare for its spring season, Saur is looking forward to her last golf season. Throughout her college career, Saur said the Columbia Classic, Howard University Invitational and Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational hosted by The Ohio State University were her favorite events
“We are returning to some of my favorite events as well as adding a new and exciting event to our schedule. All of these great events will help us prepare for the conference championships which is always what we look forward to most,” Saur said.
Youngstown State will kick off its spring season Feb. 8-9, 2025 at the Columbia Classic in Melbourne, Florida. Last season, the Penguins opened the spring at the same tournament, where they finished 11th.
