Tigers finish seventh in Happy Valley

By Tim Klapac, Senior Editor

Towson made a strong push in the final round of the Nittany Lion invitational, earning a seventh place finish at the tournament in State College, Pennsylvania between Sept. 21-22.

“A lot of the players seem to have a final push,” said head coach Shannon Briggs. “They seem to get more comfy with the course as the tourney went on. It’s a testament to their stamina and the amount of golf they’ve been playing leading up to this season.”

The Tigers moved up two spots on the team leaderboard in the final round, passing Bucknell and Akron. Sophomore Jordan Cornleius finished tied for 17th individually, carding scores of 76, 73, and 75 in the tournament.

“She’s got a really consistent, confident mindset,” Briggs said. “That’s something you can’t teach. Whenever she’s faced with a challenging shot, she knows she can pull it off.”

Along with Cornelius, sophomore Jayla Kang finished in the top-30 individually, carding a score of 78, 76 and 75.

Briggs, who is in her first season as Towson’ coach, has seen a lot from her players in the short amount of time she’s been around them.

“I truly enjoy being around the players and we’ve connected in a short period of time,” she said. “Not only do I believe in them, but they believe in me as well.”

The Penn State Golf Course, which uses bentgrass because of the cooler climate, provided a hurdle for some of the Tigers through the first two rounds.

“Playing on bentgrass is different for southern girls,” Briggs said. “I felt they really stepped it up the last 2.5-3 hours.”

Towson will travel to Greensboro, North Carolina next week to compete in the Starmount Fall Classic, beginning on Monday, Sept. 30. With the tournament starting on a Monday, Briggs is excited to give her team an extra day of preparation.

“You want to have the players missing the least amount of school as possible,” she said. “Having an extra travel day will allow the girls to get comfortable and not get out the van right away and head to a practice round. Their energy levels will be higher because of that.”

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