Sophomore golfer Julie Shin was named athlete of the week on April 7 (Courtesy of Penn Athletics).
This past weekend, when most of campus was preparing for some of the first warm spring days and a solar eclipse, Penn women's golf traveled to Bowling Green, Ohio. While in the Buckeye State, the Quakers were crowned victors for the first time this season, having won the team title in the Dolores Black Falcon Invitational.
The event was played over 36 holes across two days at the Stone Ridge Golf Club. It was the second competition Penn has played in this season, following a second-place finish at the Kingsmill Intercollegiate two weeks prior. At that event, Penn entered the final round of competition with a significant lead, but fell to Boston College, who put together the event's best round by eight strokes on the last day, winning it all by just a single stroke.
The Quakers started the event strong, shooting one-under-par as a team on Saturday's opening round. They were led by a pair of sophomores, with Julie Shin finishing at three-under, tied for best overall, and Bridget O'Keefe right behind her at two-under. At the halfway point of the competition, Penn had a four-stroke advantage on second-place Harvard.
On Sunday, although the Quakers cooled down, they expanded their lead on the rest of the field. Shin pulled away from all competitors, shooting a two-under-par 70 to finish the event at -5 and as the best golfer by three strokes. The team as a whole shot four-over-par on Sunday, but this was still the best team score for the round by three shots. At the conclusion of competition, Penn was at +3 as a team — a full 10 strokes ahead of second-place Harvard.
Beyond Shin and O'Keefe — who finished the tournament tied for sixth overall — each Quaker contributed to the weekend's performance. Junior Natalie Cao and freshman Maggie Ni tied for ninth overall, and freshman Madeleine Zang tied for 15th. This means that all five Quakers golfing finished in the top 20% of all competitors, a showcase of the team's depth.
Penn has just one tournament left before the Ivy League Championships, where the Quakers hope to defend their title from last year and earn a second consecutive trip to NCAA Competition. This final tune-up will take place this upcoming weekend at the Navy Spring Invitational in Annapolis, Md. Despite only competing in three tournaments before the crucial conference championship, Penn is showing improvement and excellence at the right time.
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