On March 31 the team traveled to Oysterville, Mass., to compete in the three-day Lady Eagle Invitational hosted by Boston College.
The team played in harsh conditions, including snow and high winds and finished eighth out of a field of 13 top competitors.
Although the course is one of the best on the circuit, the weather conditions made it very challenging.
"The course is beautiful and one of the best we play all year. It was playing really difficult," said Kathryn Kuchefski '04. "It played long even though it isn't, and that made it difficult. It was so wet that it was hard to get distance, so ball flight was short."
The Jeffs finished solidly despite the weather but did note the unique problems the weather posed.
"I think that because all the teams had to play in it, we all struggled. We lost a lot of yardage off of ball flight since the balls were rock-hard. We couldn't see in front of us, and it was extremely windy. It was hard to get a good grip on the club since our hands were so cold," Kuchefski said.
Katie Gravel '03 led the team with a strong finish and a score of 180, which put her in 17th place overall. Kuchefski followed with a solid 186 to earn 27th place. Captain Jamie Ratner '02, and Jeanie Limpert '03 both shot a respectable 195 to tie for 46th place and Kasarin Chakkaphak '03 finished close behind in 50th place with a two-round score of 198.
Despite these strong finishes, the team expected to perform at a higher level than they did due to work in practice.
"We've shown so much improvement in practice and that didn't come through in this tournament," said Gravel. "We're a much stronger team than we were this fall, and our coach has really been working with us. We are also a much more enthusiastic team."
Although overall performance did not meet the team's expectations, the tournament was good mental conditioning for the team.
"I think for the conditions we played well but we left a lot of room for improvement. We didn't meet our goals, but it was a good mental test for us to play in such rough conditions," Kuchefski said.
The Jeffs also were able to target specific areas for improvement following the competition. The team plans to work determinedly on bunker play.
"I think that overall we need to, as a team, figure out how to get ourselves out of trouble without taking as many shots. I think, for the majority of us, we need to work on getting out of the sand and rough more effectively and consistently," Kuchefski said.
A real positive point in the tournament was the team's mental focus and unity.
"I think we hung in there. We all had bad holes, but we kept our heads in it and worked through them. Although we weren't playing well, we worked hard to support each other and keep our heads in the tournament," Kuchefski said.
The lessons learned leave the team confident going into the Hartford Invitational next weekend.