Youngstown State University
Lady Blue Hen Invitational hosted by Delaware
Penguins Seek Fourth Victory in Fall Finale at Lady Blue Hen Invitational
10/17/2024 10:27:00 AM | Women's Golf
The Youngstown State women's golf team will be seeking its fourth victory of the season when it competes in the two-day Lady Blue Hen Invitational hosted by Delaware, which begins on Saturday at Rehoboth Beach Country Club in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
The Penguins are coming off their second straight tournament victory after winning the team title at the Butler Fall Invitational, which concluded on Oct. 1. YSU finished with a three-round team total of 863 to win the tournament by 12 strokes and shatter the program record for lowest 54-hole performance. YSU eclipsed the previous record of 878, which was set at the Kiawah Island Spring Classic on Feb. 24-26, 2019.
Youngstown State also set a new school record for lowest 18-hole performance with a 284 in the opening round of the Butler Fall Invitational. That performance surpassed the previous mark of 285, which was set at the Indiana State University Invitational on April 7, 2019. The Guins followed up their record-breaking round with a 290 in the second round before carding a 289 in the third and final session. All three team rounds rank among the top 10 18-hole performances in school history.
The Penguins will be going for their fourth victory in five tournaments this fall after also earning the team title at the YSU Kickoff and Roseann Schwartz Invitational. The Lady Blue Hen Invitational will mark YSU's fall finale as the Guins will pause from competition until the spring portion of the campaign begins in early February.
The tournament field at the Lady Blue Hen Invitational will feature 10 other schools including Delaware, Georgetown, Harvard, Long Island University, Penn, Quinnipiac, Richmond, Seton Hall, St. John's and Yale.
The teams will play 36 holes on Saturday and 18 holes on Sunday in the two-day, 54-hole event. Saturday's first round is scheduled to begin with shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. while Sunday's final session will commence with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. The course will play approximately 6,169 yards and par is 72. Live scoring will be available via Golf Genius through links posted on YSUsports.com and the program's social media accounts.
Head Coach Nate Miklos has announced that YSU's five-player lineup will feature Neeranuch Prajunpanich, Valentina Peña Anaya, Sofia Perez Escarcena, Lizzie Saur and Adena Rugola.
Prajunpanich finished tied atop the individual leaderboard at the Butler Fall Invitational with a three-round score of 211 (69-72-70). Prajunpanich's three-round 211 ranks as the third-lowest 54-hole score in program history while her one-under-par 69 in the first round marked the lowest round of her career. The sophomore is averaging a team-best 72.4 strokes per round with three top-10 finishes heading into the final tournament of the fall slate.
Prajunpanich, Peña Anaya, Perez Escarcena and Saur have competed in each of YSU's first four events this season while Rugola has participated in three tournaments. Peña Anaya is averaging 72.8 strokes per round with a low round of 70 and three top-10 finishes while Perez Escarcena is averaging 75.4 strokes per round with a low round of 73.
Saur is averaging 76.6 strokes per round with a low round of 71 while Rugola is averaging 80.8 strokes per round with a low round of 76. Rugola finished tied for second with a single-round score of 79 while playing as an individual at Mercyhurst's Evann Parker Memorial on Oct. 5.
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