UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; September 22, 2006 - Penn State finished only one stroke behind first place Rollins in the first of three rounds of the Nittany Lion Invitational, Penn State¡¯s only home golf tournament this year. Washington is tied with Penn State for second place with team scores of 26-over 314.

Caitlin Barry led Rollins and is in first place, after shooting a three- over 75. As a team, Rollins shot a 25-over 313. UNC-Greensboro is in fourth place and trails Penn State and Washington by 12 strokes.

Senior Evelyn Paik, who shot four- over 76, is tied for second place with fellow Nittany Lion, Brittany Fisher, and Washington¡¯s Amber Prange. Fisher competed as an individual. Closely behind for the Nittany Lion team was junior Megan Padua, shooting five- over 77 with three birdies.

Shooting a six-over 78, senior Maggie Lester also had an impressive performance. Lester led the round with birdies, finishing with four. Penn State placed first in overall birdies with 11. UNC-Greensboro, second in birdies, had eight.

Other team participants included juniors Christin Pacacha and Sara Lester, who shot 13-over 85 and 11-over 83, respectively. Individual competitors included Michele Romano, Emily Pavesich, and Katherine Murphy.

The next round of the Nittany Lion Invitational will be tomorrow, September 23 at Penn State Blue Course with 1:15 p.m. shotgun start.

T2 Penn State 314
T2 Evelyn Paik 76
T5 Megan Padua 77
T8 Maggie Lester 78
T33 Sara Lester 83
T43 Christin Pacacha 85
T2 Brittany Fisher 76
T50 Michele Romano 86
T60 Emily Pavesich 89
T64 Katherine Murphy 91