GREENVILLE, S.C. – Harvard women's golf wrapped up its run at the 2025 Lady Paladin Invitational this afternoon after taking 11^th place in the field. The Crimson was led by sophomore Lucy Yuan, who had her best collegiate tournament finish with a score of 212 (-4) to help her finish in seventh place. Her classmate, Vanessa Zhang, posted a top-25 finish with a score of 218 (+2).
 

How it Happened

The Crimson began its 2025-26 season with a trip to South Carolina, where it competed in Furman University's Lady Paladin Invitational for the first time in program history. Harvard joined the 16-team field at the Furman University golf course to begin its four-tournament Fall season.  
 
Yuan wasted no time in the tournament, jumping out to a strong start with a first-round score of 68 (-4) that put her in the top 10 in the field. Yuan carded five birdies and just one bogey to help her establish herself at the top of the leaderboard. Vanessa Zhang's 73 (+1) and Iris Wang's 79 (+7) were among the other scores counted towards the Crimson's team score of 303 (+15).
 
The Crimson bounced back on day two, posting a team score of 297 (+9) to move up to T11 on the leaderboard. It was once again Yuan who led the way, with a second-round score of 69 (-3). The sophomore moved to seven-under-par in the tournament and was tied for second place after day two at the Furman University GC. Zhang remained steady, matching her first-round score of 73 (+1) to move into the top 25 individually. Wang carded a 77 (+5) and Zahi carded a 78 (+6) to contribute to the team scoring in the second round.
 
The Crimson posted its best team score on the last day of the tournament, shooting a 296 (+8) to secure 11^th place overall in the field. Zhang's round of 72 (E) was a team low in the final round of competition. Zhai posted the second lowest round for the Crimson with a 74 (+3) while Wang and Yuan each shot 75 (+3) on the final day of action.
 
Lucy Yuan secured a top-10 finish in her first tournament of the season – the second of her career – after coming in T7 with a score of 212 (-4). Zhang finished in the top 25 with a score of 218 (+2) in the tournament.
 

Harvard Highlights

• Lucy Yuan secured her second career top-10 with a T7 finish.
• Yuan posted the fourth-most birdies in the field with 13 in 54 holes.
• Yuan's first round score of 68 was tied for the second lowest round of the tournament.
• Vanessa Zhang went even on par-three holes, the T6 lowest score in the field.

 

Team Results

1. Alabama (-18)
2. High Point (-5)
3. Minnesota (+2)
4. Furman (+2)
5. Florida Gulf Coast (+3)
6. Xavier (+3)
7. UNCW (+7)
8. Nevada (+15)
9. Old Dominion (+19)
10. Kennesaw State (+23)
11. Harvard (+32)
12. Augusta (+33)
13. North Florida (+34)
14. Eastern Kentucky (+35)
15. St. Thomas (MN) (+43)
16. Daytona State (+43)

 

Individual Results

T7. Lucy Yuan | 68-69-75 | -4
T24. Vanessa Zhang | 73-73-72 | +2
T74. Iris Wang | 79-77-75 | +15
T83. Bonnie Zhai | 84-78-74 | +20
88. Nikki Iniakov | 83-79-76 | +22
 

Up Next

The Crimson will be back on the course in two weeks, when it will make the trip to New Jersey to compete in the 2025 Princeton Invitational. The tournament is set for Saturday and Sunday Oct. 4-5 at the Springdale Golf Club.