The women's golf team successfully concluded their fall season with their second straight victory this weekend. At the Wellesley College Golf Invitational, Amherst demolished the field, beating host Wellesley by six strokes to take first place. More impressive, their combined score of 370 was 13 strokes better than archrival Mount Holyoke College, which, along with St. Lawrence University, provided the team with their stiffest division III competition this year. Rounding out the field, Bowdoin and Babson Colleges finished with a 477 and 487, respectively. Vassar College, among other schools, entered golfers as individuals, and thus did not count in the final team standings.
In this individual competition, the Jeffs also dominated, with three golfers finishing in the top seven, including the champion Katie Gravel '03. The captain's 84 was the top score by five strokes at the historical Nehoiden Golf Course, a nine-hole course in Wellesley, Mass. Gravel had a volatile day, finishing the front nine at 10-over-par. Gravel torched the back-nine, going two-over-par to secure her place at the top of the leaderboard.
Although the scores were notably higher than those at the Williams Invitational, the team does not see this as a sign of weakness. According to sophomore Emily Foran, the higher numbers were attributable to the inclement weather. "It was pouring all day. The course was soaked," she said. This made the 5,800 yard course play significantly longer, as the greens and fairways prevented balls from rolling. In ideal conditions, Foran added that the course would be "not so hard."
Despite the conclusion of the fall season, the women will not take the winter off. Their rigorous offseason regimen is comprised of individual lifting and cardiovascular work. On Feb. 15, they will start doing some indoor swing work until the weather warms, and in late March they will start their spring season. Amherst will face most of the same teams they played in the fall when they open their season at a tournament in Cape Cod in April.
The team looks forward to the challenge of playing Mount Holyoke again, their top rival. In previous seasons, Amherst's main rivals have been Boston College and Harvard University, two Division I schools who recruit for golf. But Mt. Holyoke's laidback attitude makes them formidable. "It's nice to play against another team who plays just because they like to play," said Foran.
The team is confident that they will be able to earn their third straight NCAA National Championship birth this spring.
On the flip side of the golf coin, the men's golf team had another in what has become a series of disappointing weekends. The Jeffs travelled to the Western New England College Invitational in Springfield, Mass. on Oct. 10. Amherst's combined 326 put them in fifth place, 26 strokes behind champion Salem State College and 14 strokes in back of rival Babson College.
Individually, Justin Sharaf '05 was the top Jeff golfer, finishing tied for 18th place with an 80. Sharaf is rapidly becoming the most consistent player, finishing first on the team for the third time in four tournaments. His play this season earned him a Second-Team All-NESCAC award, the only Amherst golfer and one of two underclassmen honored.
Rounding out the field for Amherst, senior captain Todd Ballaban also finished with an 80. Freshman Keith Zalaski shot an 83, along with senior captain Juke Volek, earning them both a tie for 26th place.
On Monday and Tuesday, the team played at the New England Championships, their last tournament of the fall. The Jeffs struggled with difficult conditions and were unable to muster a good performance. The team had a disappointing total score of 662. Once again, Sharaf led the way for Amherst with a two-round total of 155.
The team was unhappy with their play in the fall. "Given the amount of talent on the team, the fall season could have gone a lot better," said Volek. "But we are confident that we will be able to realize our full potential in the spring."