Torino, Italy; September 14, 2006 - Under the direction of Penn State women's golf coach Denise St. Pierre, the United States women's golf team took home the gold medal at the World University Games that were held last week in Torino, Italy. Not only did the team capture the gold, but the U.S. also had the individual gold medalist.

The U.S. won the gold by two strokes over second place and silver medalist Japan. The red, white and blue finished with a score of 579 strokes in the four-round event. Individually, Stacy Lewis of the United States won the gold medal by shooting a score of two-under par 286 (72-71-71-72) to top the silver medalist from Russia by three strokes.

This was St. Pierre's second time leading the U.S. team at the World University Games. She also served as the head coach at the World University Games in 2004 held in Thailand. St. Pierre, the outgoing President of the National Golf Coaches' Association, is entering her 14th season as head coach of the Nittany Lion women's golf program. She was recently instrumental in organizing a fundraiser through the NGCA to build a new home in hurricane ravaged New Orleans for a family through Habitat for Humanity. She was also recently a recipient of the NGCA Founders Award.

St. Pierre and the women's golf team open their 2006-07 season this weekend when they travel to the Lady Northern Intercollegiate being held at Michigan State. The first round tees off on Saturday, part of 36 holes, and the tournament wraps up on Sunday with the final 18 holes.