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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Penn State women’s golf team is back in action as they hit the road for the Evie Odom Invitational hosted by Old Dominion University at the Princess Anne Country Club this week.
The tournament will feature an 8:45 a.m. shotgun start with 36 holes of continuous play on Friday before a single 18-hole round on Saturday with split tee times starting at 8:30 a.m.
Live scoring for the event is available HERE.
THE TEAM
The lineup remains consistent from the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational a few weeks ago with junior classmates Yaya Jiratthitinun and Hannah Rabb joining sophomores Audrey Lam and Mara King with freshman Maddie Koshko rounding out the starting five. Sophomore Lillian Guleserian also makes her third-straight appearance as an individual.
Each member teeing it up this week, aside from Koshko, competed in the event last season.
Jiratthitinun and Lam each have back-to-back top-10 finishes to open the season while Koshko has a pair of top-15 finishes including her individual championship at the first-ever Happy Valley Individual to open the season.
Koshko paces the squad with a 70.20 stroke average through five rounds while carding red figures in four of those five rounds. Jiratthitinun and Lam also have sub-71 averages at 70.50 and 70.80 to open the season while King is also averaging under par with a 71.33 average through the opening two tournaments of the fall.
As a team the Nittany Lions are also averaging under par at 283.83 per round this fall and have posted back-to-back top-three finishes coming in third at their home invitational before earning runner-up accolades at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in Kentucky two weeks ago.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State went low at the 32nd Bettie Lou Evans Invitational two weeks ago finishing as the runner-up in the 13-team field behind the host Wildcats after firing a program-record 14-under, 850, including an eye-popping 16-under over the final 36 holes.
The 14-under score surpasses the previous 54-hole low of 13-under, 851, achieved en route to the 2021 Nittany Lion Invitational Championship. Penn State also tied its single-round low after carding a 10-under, 278, during the second round on Monday paced by four players in red figures.
Lam paced the Nittany Lions with her second top-10 finish of the season and the fifth of her career as she carded back-to-back rounds in red figures following an even-par opening round to register her lowest career finish relative to par at 5-under, 211.
Jiratthitinun used a final round 4-under, 68, to race 13 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for 10th at 3-under, 213, marking her second top-10 finish of the season in as many events and the sixth of her career.
Koshko continued her stellar play after winning the Happy Valley Individual two weeks ago and once again finished in red figures for the week at 1-under, 215, and in a tie for 14th following back-to-back rounds of 2-under, 70.
King rounded out the four Nittany Lions in the top-20 of the 75-player field finishing the week 1-over, 217, with her low round coming in the second round on Monday when she fired a 2-under, 70, highlighted by three-straight birdies on holes 4-6.
COURSE & TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW
The par-70 layout spans 5,824 yards and features four par-5s along with six challenging par-3s.
Opening in 2008, the first-rate golf course winds through stands of stately pines and live oaks and along narrow waterways.
This year will mark the eighth time the ODU women's golf program has hosted a collegiate tournament at the Princess Anne Country Club and this will be the sixth year under the name Evie Odom Invitational.
Tournament namesake Evie Odom made the largest contribution to a women’s sport in the history of ODU Athletics. Her support of ODU women's golf and specifically this tournament gives the team a tremendous boost in their ability to compete nationally.
Penn State is the returning Co-Champion as the Nittany Lions finished tied with Maryland at last year's event with matching 14-over scores.
King had her coming out party in last year's event finishing sixth at 1-over, 211, following a 1-under, 69, on Saturday after back-to-back rounds of 1-over, 71, to open the week.
Lam used back-to-back rounds of 1-under, 69, following an opening round 74 to finish in a tie for seventh at 2-over, 212 while Rabb also finished tied for seventh at 2-over, 212, following her low round of the week on Saturday as she too carded a 1-under, 69, as the Nittany Lions had three players in red figures for the day.
THE FIELD
A total of 14 teams make up the field this week as the Nittany Lions and host Monarchs are joined by Georgia, North Florida, Coastal Carolina, South Alabama, South Carolina, Louisville, Belmont, Lehigh, Sacramento State, William and Mary, Georgetown, Bowling Green State.
NEXT UP
Penn State takes the next week off before concluding the fall campaign at the French Board Collegiate Invitational in Asheville, N.C. on October 25-27.