CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's golf opened up the 2024-25 Fall season with a solid effort at the Nittany Lion Invitational hosted the Penn State University Blue Course. The Crimson took second place in the field of 14 teams, defeating a number of talented opponents including Penn State, Jacksonville State and Delaware. First-year Vanessa Zhang and junior Iris Wang led the effort with 54-hole scores of 221 (+5) that put them both tied for ninth in the 83-player tournament.
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Crimson made its seventh appearance at the Nittany Lion Invitational this weekend, competing in the competition for the first time since the 2021 season.
• Day one of the tournament included 36 holes over two rounds at the Penn State University Blue Course, a par 72 track that played 6,243 yards.
• Harvard started strong in the tournament, posting a team score of 295 (+7) to slot itself in fourth place after the first 18 holes.
• Bridget Ma's one-over-par opening round of 73 paced the Crimson. Wang, Zhang and first-year Lucy Yuan were not far off carding rounds of 74 (+2).
• The Crimson posted its lowest score in the second round of the tournament, posting a six-over-par 294 to move into fourth place after 36 holes.
• Iris Wang shot an even par round of 72 to lead the Crimson in the round. Sophomore Lauren Wong also had her best score of the tournament in the second round, shooting an impressive one-over-par 73.
• Zhang came to play in the final round on Sunday, shooting an even-par 72 to pace the team in the last 18 holes of the tournament. Yuan, her fellow first-year, chipped in with a two-over round of 74.
• As a team the Crimson combined for a score of 300 (+12), which helped them fly up two spots on the leaderboard to finish in sole possession of second place.

 

FINAL RESULTS

Team Results

1. Princeton | +10
2. Harvard | +25
3. Jacksonville State | +28
4. Penn State | +31
5. Delaware & Yale | +32

Individual Results

9 - Vanessa Zhang | +5
9 - Iris Wang | +5
13 - Lucy Yuan | +6
26 - Bridget Ma | +11
46 - Lauren Wong | +16
 

Harvard Highlights

• Iris Wang and Vanessa Zhang both finished in the top 10 with tournament scores of 221 (+5). Both golfers also tied for the best round of the tournament for the Crimson as both carded rounds of even par 72 at the Penn State Blue Course.

• Wang also had the most birdies on the team during the tournament, carding seven over three rounds.

• Zhang only carded 10 bogeys or worse in the 54-hole competition and had six birdies on her scorecards throughout the weekend.

 

Up Next

The Crimson will be back in action in two weeks when it heads down to New Jersey to compete in the Princeton Invitational (Sep. 28-29). Harvard will compete at the Springdale Golf Club for the 54-hole tournament.