Rutgers Women's Golf Hosts Invitational Tournament

Defending champions look to continue dominance at annual event

Apr. 9, 2026 at 12:34am

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A cubist, geometric painting depicting a women's golf tournament, with overlapping planes of green fairways, blue skies, and white golf balls, conveying the dynamic energy and competition of the event.Rutgers women's golf team looks to defend their Invitational title against a field of Northeast rivals.Albany Today

The Rutgers women's golf team will host the annual Rutgers Invitational tournament this weekend in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers enters as the two-time defending champion, having won the event in 2024 and 2025. The team's star player, Emily James, is also the defending individual champion.

Why it matters

The Rutgers Invitational is a key early-season tournament for women's golf teams in the Northeast region. Rutgers' continued success at the event could help boost their national ranking, which currently sits at 81st out of 285 Division I programs.

The details

Rutgers has finished in second place in its last two tournaments, at NC State and Georgia, with the host schools winning each time. Despite the strong finishes, Rutgers' national ranking has remained relatively stable between 76th and 84th since the initial rankings were released in October. The Scarlet Knights will be the highest-ranked team in the 16-team field, which also includes Dartmouth, Penn, Georgetown, Bucknell, and Quinnipiac.

  • The 2024 Rutgers Invitational was won by Rutgers, who finished 26 strokes ahead of Albany. Rutgers' Rikke Nordvik was the individual champion.
  • In 2025, Rutgers won the Invitational by 30 strokes over Seton Hall, with Emily James taking the individual title and Rutgers claiming the top four spots.

The players

Rutgers Women's Golf Team

The Rutgers women's golf team is the two-time defending champion of the Rutgers Invitational tournament, having won the event in 2024 and 2025.

Emily James

The Rutgers junior is the defending individual champion of the Rutgers Invitational, having won the title in 2025.

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The takeaway

Rutgers women's golf team enters the Rutgers Invitational as the heavy favorites, having won the last two editions of the tournament. Their continued success could help boost their national ranking, which has remained relatively stable in the 70s and 80s despite strong recent finishes.