PRINCETON, N.J. – Rutgers women's golf delivered its best performance of the fall courtesy of a runner-up finish at the Princeton Invitational on Sunday at Springdale Golf Club.
 
Sophomore Judy Amano (T5), redshirt senior Grace Lu (T7) and sophomore Joline Truong (T10) all secured top 10 results to help the Scarlet Knights finish second with an eight-over-par 860 (285-289-286) in the 13-team field. Princeton captured the invitational with a one-under-par 851 (288-284-279), while Columbia finished third with a 14-over-par 866 (289-288-289).

"While it wasn't the finish we were hoping for when we started the morning, the team did a fantastic job of digging in and finishing their rounds to secure our spot on the leaderboard," said head coach Kari Williams. "It was great to see Judy bounce back from her last event and put together three good rounds. I saw strong golf from everyone and we'll look to keep the momentum going to close out the fall." 
 
Columbia's Kristina Xu and Princeton's Thanana Kotchasanmanee and Olivia Duan all recorded two-under-par three-round scores to finish atop the individual leaderboard. At one-over-par, Amano finished just two strokes behind the trio.

Round 3 – Sunday, Oct. 5
Weather: Sunny, Temps in mid-70s, 5-10 mph winds
 
Amano continued her strong play from Saturday into her final 18, carding a two-under-par 69 in round three. Her performance included birdies on holes one, five and six, as she moved up two spots to tie for fifth in the 79-player field. Amano closed her weekend with nine birdies across three rounds of play.

"It was another solid round for me today," Amano said. "I had to stay patient, especially after a few tough holes, but I was able to save a couple pars by chipping it close and rolling in good putts. My game felt steady overall, and I'm glad I was able to contribute and help us finish in second as a team"
 
Lu moved back two spots on the leaderboard to tie for seventh after her one-over-par 72 in the final round. Truong moved to 10th thanks to an even 71 on Sunday, which included birdies on holes 13, 14 and 17. Truong added eight birdies during the invitational.
 
Rookie Elizabeth Ryu was the biggest mover of the day, climbing seven positions to tie for 25th thanks to her three-over-par 74. Junior Krystal Li produced a six-over-par 77 to also tie for 25th.
 
Junior Emily James rounded out the team scorecard with her nine-over-par 80.
 
Round 2 – Saturday, Oct. 4
Weather: Sunny, Temps in mid-70s, 5-10 mph winds
 
Amano finished the day strong, carding a two-under-par 69 in the second round. Amano rolled in five birdies to move up 32 spots on the leader board and tie for seventh ahead of the third round.

"It felt great to put together a comeback round this afternoon on a 36-hole day," Amano said. "My play off the tee and my ball-striking were both solid, which gave me plenty of birdie looks. I just had to stay patient on the greens and trust that the putts would fall. Overall, I am happy I was able to contribute a good score for the team this afternoon and we're excited to have another 18 holes out at Springdale."
 
Lu also enjoyed a strong second round with a one-over-par 72, highlighted by a birdie on the sixth hole. Her consistent play kept her in the top five at fifth in the field.
 
James (+3), Li (+4) and Truong (+4) all added strong rounds during the afternoon. Li had two birdies to move to 12th, Trong added two birdies to tie for 19th, while James produced birdies on holes six and 13 en route to her three-over-par 74.
 
Despite her seven-over-par in the second round, Ryu is tied for 31st to round out the team scorecard.
 
Round 1 – Saturday, Oct. 4
Weather: Sunny, Temps in high-60s, 5-10 mph winds
 
The Scarlet Knight started the morning hot, as Li, Lu ad Ryu all carded even scorecards to tie for fourth after the first 18 holes of play. Lu produced four consecutive birdies on holes 12 through 15, while her 10 pars helped her secure an even scorecard.
 
Li tallied a team-high five birdies in her opening round, while Ryu rolled in birdies on holes four, eight and 16.
 
Truong added a one-over-par 72 to tie for ninth Saturday morning, while Amano added a five-over-par 76.

Final Results: Princeton Invitational

2	Rutgers	285 (+1)	290 (+6)	286 (+2)	866 (+8)
Place	Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
T5	Judy Amano	76 (+5)	69 (-2)	69 (-2)	214 (+1)
T7	Grace Lu	71 (E)	72 (+1)	72 (+1)	215 (+2)
T10	Joline Truong	72 (+1)	75 (+4)	71 (E)	217 (+4)
T25	Krystal Li	71 (E)	75 (+4)	77 (+6)	223 (+10)
T25	Elizabeth Ryu	71 (E)	78 (+7)	74 (+3)	223 (+10)
T67	Emily James	85 (+14)	74 (+3)	80 (+9)	239 (+26)

Up Next
Rutgers closes the fall at the Dale McNamara Invitational from Oct. 13-14 in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.