Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University women's golf opened its 2025-26 season Friday with the first of three rounds at the Bucknell Fall Invitational in Lewisburg, Pa., at Bucknell Golf Club. The Dukes sit sixth out of 19 teams after handing in 308 at the 5,901-yard, par 70 course.
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD
The host Bison lead the field after the first day of action, carding a 297. Just 11 strokes separate the top six teams, as Duquesne is within striking distance of Holy Cross (302), Merrimack (303) and Purdue Fort Wayne and Saint Francis, which each posted a 304 to sit in a tie for fourth. Mount St. Mary's (314) sits in seventh, six strokes behind the Dukes, with LIU (315), Bucknell B (320) and New Haven (321) rounding out the top 10 teams.
 
GREAT LAKES
Leading the charge individually for Duquesne is Katie Fodale, who handed in a 72 Friday in her first round as a sophomore, two strokes over par, to sit in a tie atop the leaderboard with Katherine Vice of Bucknell. The Dukes started on hole No. 10, with Fodale picking up at birdie at No. 13, a 145-yard par three. She added her second birdie of the round at No. 2, also a par three with a length of 189 yards. It marks Fodale's best round at the NCAA Division I level. Ironically, Fodale's best round as a rookie also came in the opening round of the 2024 Bucknell Fall Invite, where she fired a 75.
 
TWEET DECK
Fodale was one of three Dukes to register a pair of birdies in the first round of the Bucknell Fall Invitational Friday, joining sophomore Katie Caryl and freshman Ashley von Behren. Camillle Gagnon of Saint Francis leads the field in the early going in birdies with four, while eight other individuals posted three. Fodale, however, averaged 2.60 (-2) when playing a par three Friday, which leads the field. In addition, Fodale also led Duquesne in the round by posting par on 12 holes, one more than sophomore Abby Slankster and two more than sophomore Paige Meyers.
 
THE ROOKIE
In her NCAA Division I debut Friday, von Behren handed in a 76 (+6), finishing with a 38 on both the front and back nine. She finished strong, as both of her birdies came in the final four holes, with one coming on a par four and the other a par five. At No. 9, the second-longest hole of the course at 486 yards, von Behren closed with a birdie to finish at 76, which is tied for 12th individually with five other student-athletes. The Bucknell Fall Invitational features the older sister of von Behren, Katrina, who is a sophomore with the Bison and closed the first day of action at 77 (+7).
 
THE LINEUP
Sitting just outside the top 25 in a field that features 107 golfers is freshman Lilly Powell, who carded a 78 (+8) in her NCAA Division I debut playing as an individual. Just one stroke behind Powell is Slankster, while Meyers finished at 80. One stroke behind Meyers is senior Lindsey Powanda (81) and Caryl, while sophomore Sasha Petrochko finished at 84 (+14).
 
UP NEXT
The second round of the Bucknell Fall Invitational begins at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, and the final round will tee off at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 7.
 
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