Tigers Top Ivy League in Nittany Lion Invitational, Prepare for Weekend Tournament

The Princeton women's golf team participated in the Nittany Lion Invitational at Penn State this past weekend. Five Ivies accompanied Princeton to the tournament, but it was the Tigers that came out on top.

As the reigning Ivy League champion, the Orange and Black placed fourth overall (889, +25), followed by the Crimson in seventh (899, +35) and fellow Ivies Yale, Penn, and Columbia in eighth (910, +46), 11th (919, +55), and 12th (920, +56) respectively. Overall, no one outplayed the Maryland Terrapins, as these ladies took home both the individual and team titles, carding a cumulative 863, one under par, led by Laura Van Respaille. Van Respaille recorded very impressive round scores of 74, 68, and 70 to finish four under par.

The Tigers’ three-round score of 889 was the program's best for a 54-hole event. This record broke the 891 three-round score posted by the team in last year's Ivy League Championships.

After strong play this past weekend, this coming weekend with a home tournament at the Springdale Golf Club in Princeton, NJ is sure to be quite exciting. The only Ivy League school missing out on this annual tournament this year is Cornell, but the rest will be joined by Georgetown, Rollins, and Seton Hall.

Two years ago, Columbia won the event in a really close matchup by just two strokes over Georgetown. Harvard junior Michelle Xie was the defending individual champion. This year, the Tigers are hoping to use some of their momentum from this weekend and dominate in play.

Junior Tiana Lau, sophomores Maya Walton and Alison Chang, senior Tenley Shield and rookie Anabelle Chang will be in Princeton's scoring five, and juniors Amanda Brown and Amber Wang will compete as individuals. Springdale will be a par-72, 6,100-yard course for the event, which will feature 36 holes Saturday and 18 Sunday. At the first tee on Saturday will be Harvard, Princeton, and Yale between 8:30 and 8:36 a.m. Following them will be Rollins, Penn, Princeton, and Yale’s individuals between 8:45 and 9:21 a.m. The 10th tee at starting time will be Dartmouth (with individuals), Georgetown (with individuals), and individuals from Harvard, Penn, Seton Hall, Delaware, and Columbia. At the later tee time of the 10th hole, the scoring five of Columbia, Seton Hall, and Delaware will all begin play.

On Sunday, the golfers in the first tee time, 8:30 to 9:06 a.m., will be the teams that placed seventh and eighth Saturday and Princeton and Yale’s individual players. They will be followed by the teams that placed first, second, and third between 9:15 and 9:51 a.m.. At 10 a.m. on the first tee, Seton Hall, Delaware, and Harvard individuals will start play as well. On the 10th tee at the first tee off time, ninth and 10th place will begin tournament play, in additional to individuals from Dartmouth, Penn, Georgetown, and Columbia. Fourth, fifth, and sixth-placed teams will follow them between 9:15 and 9:51 a.m. for the final tee off of the invitational.