Terps Head To Penn State For Nittany Lion Invitational

Oct. 2, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland women's golf team travels to State College, Pa., this weekend for the two-day Nittany Lion Invitational. The tournament will take place Oct. 5-6 on the par-72, 6,545-yard Penn State Blue Course.

The Terps withdrew from last weekend's Chrysler ACC/SEC Challenge in Destin, Fla., when Tropical Storm Isidore created unsafe traveling conditions. The team has not played since finishing ninth at the Lady Kat Invitational Sept. 13-15 in Lexington, Ky. "We're really excited to get back on the course," said fourth-year head coach Jason Rodenhaver.

At No. 28, host Penn State leads the 15-team field as the only squad ranked in the top 30 in Golfstat's most recent rankings. The teams competing are: Bowling Green, Bucknell, East Carolina, James Madison, Longwood, Maryland, Monmouth, Ohio, Penn State, Princeton, Rollins, St. Francis (Pa.), William & Mary, Winthrop and Yale.

Juniors Katie Redeker (Pepper Pike, Ohio) and Marie Harper (West Point, Va.), senior Erin Clasper (North Patomac, Md.), freshman Alex Casi (East Palestine, Ohio), sophomore Kristen Shew (Hockessin, Del.) and senior Carter Crowther (Kilmarnock, Va.) will compete for the Terps.

Terps In Lexington

The Terps opened the season Sept. 13-15 in Lexington, Ky., at the Lady Kat Invitational, hosted by the University of Kentucky. Maryland finished in ninth place out of 16 teams at the rain-shortened tournament. "We were a little rusty, but we played OK," Rodenhaver said. "We did a lot of good things, but we can definitely get better."

Harper and Redeker tied for 30th place to lead the Terps. They shot a two-day total of 158.

Casi shot a 10-over-par 82, leaving her tied for 36th place but just two strokes behind her teammates.

Clasper was the only Terp to improve on her first day's score, as she shot an 81. She finished tied for 50th with a two-day total of 163.

Junior Kara Gropler (Franklin Lakes, N.J.), who will not compete this weekend, was just one stroke behind Clasper and tied for 54th place. Shew will replace Gropeler in the lineup.

Terps At A Glance

This is the first full four-year senior class for the Terps, who began play just four years ago. Jennifer Gibson (Havertown, Pa.) and Holly Thornton (Delran, N.J.) join Crowther and Clasper, the team captain.

The Terps are looking to improve upon what Rodenhaver called a "disappointing" 2001-02 season. While the team's average did not decline, it also did not improve. "We just couldn't get it all together at once," Rodenhaver said.

About Coach Rodenhaver

In his fourth season as head coach, Jason Rodenhaver is the only coach the Maryland women's golf team has ever known, and built the program from scratch.

Rodenhaver played three years for Maryland after transferring from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he played one season. As team captain in 1994, his senior year, Rodenhaver led the Terps to a fifth place finish at the ACC Tournament, and played in the 1994 NCAA Tournament.

In his eighth year of coaching, Rodenhaver was named head coach of the women's team on November 19, 1998 after serving as the assistant coach of the men's team for four-and-a-half seasons.

Rodenhaver says his most memorable moment as a coach was leading the women's team to victory at the James Madison Lady Dukes Invitational in Spring 2001. It was the first team victory in Maryland women's golf history.

Terps Head To Penn State For Nittany Lion Invitational

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