Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University women's golf team continued play in the Bucknell Fall Invitational Saturday in Lewisburg, Pa., moving up to seventh after two rounds of action at Bucknell Golf Club. The Dukes shaved four strokes off their score from the first round, carding a 312 Saturday to sit at 628 (+68) overall.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
Penn remains in first place after two rounds with a 580 (+20) after posting the best round of the tournament thus far with a 285 (+5) Saturday. Towson (602) sits second, followed by the host Bison (603), Lehigh (606) and Holy Cross (623). LIU (624) sits four strokes ahead of Duquesne entering the third and final round Sunday, with the Dukes owning an opportunity to climb into the top five in their first NCAA Division I competition.
FIRST DOWN
A day after a bevy of firsts for the newest NCAA Division I program at Duquesne, more history was made Saturday. Freshman
Sasha Petrochko finished at even par in the second round, becoming the first student-athlete in school history to accomplish the feat. She posted a 35 on the back nine to open the second round before finishing one under on the front nine to tally another 35 and finish the second round at 70. During the round, Petrochko registered par on 12 holes and added a birdie on three more, including the 14th, second and ninth holes.
IMPRESSIVE
Petrochko will enter the final day of the Bucknell Fall Invite Sunday tied for third individually with Hailey Holbdy of LIU and Claire Lu of Penn, who is playing as an individual. Each sit at 146 (+6) through two rounds. The trio is three strokes off the individual lead, which is held by Debby Chang of Penn. Chang handed in a 71 Saturday and is at 143 (+3) overall, while Maggie Ni of the Quakers sits second at 145 (+5) after posting the first under par round of the tournament Saturday with a 69. The performance by Petrochko helped her jump 16 spots in the individual standings.
THE FIELD
In a season-opening tournament that features 78 golfers, Duquesne has a pair of other student-athletes making their NCAA Division I debut lurking in the top 30 individually. Freshman
Katie Caryl handed in a 79 Saturday and sits at 155 (+15) for a four-way tie for 26th, while rookie
Katie Fodale, playing as an individual, finished at 81 in the second round and is tied for 30th at 156 (+16).
THE LINEUP
Junior
Lindsey Powanda finished two strokes better Saturday than her opening round, posting a 79 to sit at 160 (+20) entering Sunday's final round. She jumped 10 spots in the individual standings and is in a three-way tie for 40th. Freshman
Abby Slankster carded an 84 Saturday and is at 167 (+27) overall, while freshman
Paige Meyers finished with an 88 and is at 175 (+35).
UP NEXT
The final round of the Bucknell Fall Invitational Sunday tees off at 8:30 a.m., with Meyers leading the charge for Duquesne from the first hole. Slankster will follow 10 minutes later as the Dukes open a round on the front nine for the first time in the tournament.
FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and updates on Duquesne women's golf, follow the Dukes on X and Instagram.
