University of Delaware Athletics
Rhianna Gooneratne Excited to Continue Her Strong Freshman Season
2/19/2026 6:12:00 PM | Women's Golf
NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware women's golf team is set to open up its spring schedule this weekend as the squad travels to Georgia for the Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational, hosted by Mercer. At the top of the lineup for the Fightin' Blue Hens will be freshman Rhianna Gooneratne, who is looking to build off a tremendous fall season to kick off her collegiate career.
One of two freshmen on the team, Gooneratne played in all five tournaments for the Blue Hens in the fall, leading the squad with a 72.73 stroke average across 15 rounds. In the 15 years of women's golf at Delaware, no player has finished with a stroke average below 73 and Gooneratne is on pace to break the program's single-season record for stroke average by a freshman by nearly two full shots.
"The team support and culture definitely helped from the beginning," Gooneratne said. "They have a lot more knowledge of how things work here and they made Victoria and me feel very comfortable with asking questions and being open about how we're feeling and everything I think just because of that comfortability. I was able to not be as nervous and not really worry about the scores that much, and I think that's what helped me play some of the best golf."
Gooneratne arrived at Delaware on a roll after some good showings in junior events. The Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania native placed second at the Super Lychee Junior Open in August right before heading to UD's campus. She also had top-10 performances at the BMW GAP Women's Championship and the Pennsylvania Women's Amateur, while also competing at the U.S. Women's Amateur and the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.
When she got to Newark, Gooneratne worked with Delaware coaches Patty Post and Isabel Amezcua to tweak a couple of things to better improve her scores. Her self-proclaimed strength is her driver and distance with the big stick. Gooneratne worked with her coaches to improve her accuracy off the tee box to better set her up with her approach shots.
"Right before tournaments started in the fall, both coaches helped me straighten out my drives and a couple of my other shots so my accuracy was a lot better," Gooneratne said. "That helped me throughout the season because I was able to have good looks at the green and put myself in position to make birdies."
Gooneratne also leads the Blue Hens with three top-10 finishes and has recorded six of her 15 rounds at even or under par, which is tied for the team lead. The highlight of her fall came when Delaware hosted the Lady Blue Hen Invitational to close out the fall campaign. Gooneratne carded back-to-back under-par rounds to finish the tournament and claim runner-up honors. She had 10 birdies over the final 36 holes, turning in scorecards of 69 and 71. She was later named the Conference USA Women's Golfer of the Week for her performance.
"It was a really nice way to cap off the season," Gooneratne said. "It showed the amount of work that I put in and that the team put in throughout the fall. At that moment, I was really proud of our team and how we fought throughout the season. It was nice to do it at our home tournament because my mom and brother were there."
As the Blue Hens prepare for a run to the Conference USA Championship later this spring, Gooneratne is looking forward to getting back out on the course and to continue to work on her craft. She spent the long, cold winter break at home in Pennsylvania, practicing as much as she could on a simulator before coming back to campus and having to spend more time hitting in the team's indoor hitting bays.
"I've been working on my wedge game," Gooneratne said. "Especially since we've been indoors these past couple of weeks or so, I think that's definitely a focal point for me. Hopefully I'll be able to make a couple more up-and-downs which will help bring the scores down a little bit as well."
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One of two freshmen on the team, Gooneratne played in all five tournaments for the Blue Hens in the fall, leading the squad with a 72.73 stroke average across 15 rounds. In the 15 years of women's golf at Delaware, no player has finished with a stroke average below 73 and Gooneratne is on pace to break the program's single-season record for stroke average by a freshman by nearly two full shots.
"The team support and culture definitely helped from the beginning," Gooneratne said. "They have a lot more knowledge of how things work here and they made Victoria and me feel very comfortable with asking questions and being open about how we're feeling and everything I think just because of that comfortability. I was able to not be as nervous and not really worry about the scores that much, and I think that's what helped me play some of the best golf."
Gooneratne arrived at Delaware on a roll after some good showings in junior events. The Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania native placed second at the Super Lychee Junior Open in August right before heading to UD's campus. She also had top-10 performances at the BMW GAP Women's Championship and the Pennsylvania Women's Amateur, while also competing at the U.S. Women's Amateur and the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.
When she got to Newark, Gooneratne worked with Delaware coaches Patty Post and Isabel Amezcua to tweak a couple of things to better improve her scores. Her self-proclaimed strength is her driver and distance with the big stick. Gooneratne worked with her coaches to improve her accuracy off the tee box to better set her up with her approach shots.
"Right before tournaments started in the fall, both coaches helped me straighten out my drives and a couple of my other shots so my accuracy was a lot better," Gooneratne said. "That helped me throughout the season because I was able to have good looks at the green and put myself in position to make birdies."
Gooneratne also leads the Blue Hens with three top-10 finishes and has recorded six of her 15 rounds at even or under par, which is tied for the team lead. The highlight of her fall came when Delaware hosted the Lady Blue Hen Invitational to close out the fall campaign. Gooneratne carded back-to-back under-par rounds to finish the tournament and claim runner-up honors. She had 10 birdies over the final 36 holes, turning in scorecards of 69 and 71. She was later named the Conference USA Women's Golfer of the Week for her performance.
"It was a really nice way to cap off the season," Gooneratne said. "It showed the amount of work that I put in and that the team put in throughout the fall. At that moment, I was really proud of our team and how we fought throughout the season. It was nice to do it at our home tournament because my mom and brother were there."
As the Blue Hens prepare for a run to the Conference USA Championship later this spring, Gooneratne is looking forward to getting back out on the course and to continue to work on her craft. She spent the long, cold winter break at home in Pennsylvania, practicing as much as she could on a simulator before coming back to campus and having to spend more time hitting in the team's indoor hitting bays.
"I've been working on my wedge game," Gooneratne said. "Especially since we've been indoors these past couple of weeks or so, I think that's definitely a focal point for me. Hopefully I'll be able to make a couple more up-and-downs which will help bring the scores down a little bit as well."
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
For the latest on Delaware women's golf, follow the Blue Hens on X, Instagram, and like on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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