The Kathryn Kuchefski show, however, benefited from a strong supporting cast. At Dartmouth, junior captain Meg Sullivan (83-84) led the Jeffs to a ninth-place finish, ahead of the Jeffs' Div. III competitors. Rookie Sarah Harper '07, in her first collegiate tournament, rallied from a first-round 91 to shoot 83 on Sunday. This trio, along with Emily Foran '05, proved to be the nucleus of the women's team.
At the Bryant Invitational a week later, Amherst suffered a letdown against a field comprised of mostly Div. II and Div. III squads. The women finished sixth out of 11 teams, but their 696 was a full 20 shots worse than their score at Dartmouth. Kuchefski was the bright spot for Amherst, tying for 14th individually with an 82-83-165. Her run was just beginning.
At the Mount Holyoke Invitational, the Jeffs never made it onto the course on Sunday due to rain, and had to settle for a third-place tie with rival Wellesley. The tournament host edged the Jeffs by just two strokes, even as Amherst's four scorers were paragons of consistency-low scorer Kuchefski and high scorer Sullivan separated by only five strokes.
Going into the Wellesley Invitational, Sullivan commented that the Jeffs had a "legitimate shot at winning these kinds of tournaments," and that's exactly what they did. Amherst took a commanding 19-shot lead after the first round and coasted to a 46-stroke victory. Kuchefski broke 80 for the first time this year in round one-then did it again in round two. Her 78-77-155 earned her the individual title, just ahead of teammates Foran (86-84-170) and Sullivan (88-84-172). All told, three of the top five wore Amherst purple; the squad's fourth scorer, Harper, captured her first top-10 finish. Bouncing back from a disappointing Mt. Holyoke Invite and winning the Wellesley Invitational was "the high point of this fall," said Sullivan.
The Jeffs, Kuchefski especially, would have been hard-pressed to improve upon their play at Wellesley. But at the season-ending Central Connecticut State University Women's Golf Invitational, Kuchefski followed up her medalist honors with a scorching opening-round 75. She proved herself human in the second round, with an 81, but her 156 was still good enough to win again. She said of her play this fall, "It was so rewarding to see all the hard work and hours of practice pay off."
The Jeffs, meanwhile, finished fourth in the seven-team field. Nonetheless, Sullivan said, "This has been the best fall season that we have had since I have been here."
The women's golf team saved its best for last, but will return from its winter-long hiatus in March. Northeastern golfers, take notice.