The men's golf team started its season off with a solid ninth-place finish out of 21 teams, defeating, among others, Wesleyan University. Skidmore and Williams Colleges led the pack at the Duke Nelson Tournament, but Amherst only trailed by 25 strokes with a team score of 635. Captain Mike Blaisdell '02 led the way for the Jeffs with a two-day score of 155, finishing tied for 19th overall.
As demonstrated by early season results, both teams started their seasons slowly. The following week was another tough outing for Amherst golf. At Williams College, the men finished a mediocre 14th out of 21 teams in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the women's team faced another challenge in their first tournament. "As a team it was our first tournament of the season, so we just tried to get back into tournament play," said Kathryn Kuchefski '04.
Kuchefski was the standard bearer for the women's side, shooting a team-low two-day score of 174 to lead the Jeffs.
The Jeffs didn't really get into gear until the week of the NESCAC Championships, hosted by Williams College.
The men managed a strong second-place finish with a score of 623 strokes, only trailing Williams, who won the tournament for the second straight year.
Blaisdell led the Jeffs with a score of 152, in third place overall. Jude Volek '03 was also hot, hitting for a score of 155 and placing sixth overall. Todd Ballaban '03 was also a key player in the Jeffs' strong day with a 156, good for seventh place. Volek would go on to be the top Jeff golfer in two tournaments. Blaisdell received first team All-NESCAC accolades for his individual efforts. Volek and Ballaban were named to the NESCAC second team. "We were actually expecting to play better," said Ballaban, "But we were impressed by the improvement over last weekend."
The women's golf team was also impressive at the NESCAC Tournament. Jeannie Limpert '03 finished first overall in the women's tournament. She finished with a combined score of 180, just one stroke ahead of fellow Jeff Kasarin Chakkaphak '03, who shot a 181 to finish second.
The NESCACs would prove to be the turning point in the Jeffs' season. The men finished in the top 10 in two additional tournaments and the women won their first tournament, the Williams Tri-Match. Kuchefski continued her wonderful season as the low scorer.
"It was something good to end with and something good to start with," said Kuchefski. Indeed, spring looks to be an exciting time for golf.