STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – After sitting in 11th place after the first round of the Nittany Lion Invitational, the Navy women's golf team fired a 9-over par 297 during the second round of the tournament to move into a tie for fifth. The Midshipmen finished the event in sixth place with a 48-over par 912.
 
"It was a good tournament and we continue to put together two solid rounds a day," head coach Nadia Ste-Marie said. "We are close to getting four strong scores and we are continuing to learn, grow and build toward our spring season. Penn State has a tough and long course but we liked the challenge this weekend. There were a lot of strong teams here and I am excited we finished in the top half of the field. Amelia [Root] and Christine [McDonnell] played well this weekend and were both 1-under par at one point during the final round. We know where and what we can improve on moving forward."
 
Christine McDonnell (Jr., Suwanee, Ga.) led the Midshipmen after finishing tied for 11th in the 72-golfer field with a 4-over par 220. Following a 4-over par 76 in the first round, she posted Navy's only round below par this weekend with a 1-under par 71 during the second round. In the final round on Sunday, McDonnell carded a 1-over par 73. McDonnell finished tied for sixth overall in par-four scoring after shooting even-par on the courses par fours. 
 
Amelia Root (So., Jacksonville, Fla.) improved throughout the weekend and cut three strokes off her score in each round. Root started the weekend with a 7-over par 79 and then posted a 4-over par 76 in the second round. She finished the weekend with a 1-over par 73 to place tied for 26th.
 
The pair of Root and McDonnell finished the weekend with nine birdies apiece, which were tied for sixth in the field.
 
Katie Um (Jr., Chesapeake, Va.) finished tied for 37th overall with a three-round score of 16-over par 232. Um's best round of the weekend came in the second round with a 3-over par 75. She started the tournament with a 6-over par 78 and capped off the weekend with a 7-over par 79. 
 
Shannon Gould (So., O'Fallon, Mo.) and Morgan Frazier (Sr., Mechanicsburg, Pa.) finished one stroke apart with a 17-over par 223 and an 18-over par 234. Gould bookended the tournament with a pair of 7-over par 79s while firing a 3-over par 75 in round two. Gould finished tied for sixth in the tournament field with 37 total pars throughout the weekend. Frazier started the weekend with a 7-over par 79 and then finished off Saturday at 5-over par 77. In the final round, the senior captain capped off the weekend with a 6-over par 78.
 
Tori Smith (So., Arlington, Tenn.) competed as an individual for Navy and finished tied for 59th with a 26-over par 242. Smith finished with two rounds in the 80s following an opening-round 14-over par 86 and a final round 8-over par 80. Smith had her best round of the weekend in round two at 4-over par 76.
 
Penn won the team title with a 54-hole score of 4-over par 868 with host Penn State finishing in second place at 12-over par 876. Three individuals finished tied atop the leaderboard after 54 holes with Seton Hall's Sarah Fouratt and Madeline Sager and High Point's Samantha Vodry carding 2-under par 214s for the weekend to share medalist honors.
 
Navy is back in action on October 7 for the Hatter Classic at the Alaqua Country Club in Longwood, Fla.