The Amherst golf teams refused to get thrown off balance this past weekend, despite facing challenging conditions on the green. Showing improvement from their last tournament play, the women took first place in the Vassar College Invitational. The men’s team found the conditions more difficult in Plymouth, Mass., and ended up placing 11th out of 14 teams in the Babson College Spring Opener.
Women
The Jeffs edged past Middlebury College with two strokes to claim victory over the 10 teams that competed at the Vassar Invitational. Hayley Milbourn ’11, placing second individually, led the Jeffs with a score of 160. Milbourn narrowly missed defending the individual medal by five strokes. First-years Elaine Lin and Laura Monty did not trail far behind. Lin shot a 166 to claim a 10th place finish, and Monty scored 167 to nab 11th place. Nina Yoo ’12 struggled on the first day with a score of 91 but recovered on the second day with a solid 84, which helped her tie for 17th. Senior Amanda Otieno was the last addition to the Jeffs’ scoring total and placed 37th.
“We put in a lot of hard work during the winter training indoors and over spring break playing a straight week of golf, so the team’s win was the best start to the season we could have asked for,” said Lin ’12. “It’s going to give us a lot of momentum going into our next tournaments.”
Yoo ’12 also added, “Our win this weekend was very rewarding. We battled through some tough weather conditions and really stuck with it till the end. I am proud of our performance am looking forward to the Massachusetts State Championships and home tournament in two weeks.”
“There is still much to do in preparation,” Yoo said regarding the team’s outlook on the remainder of the season. “But we are excited for the great possibilities that lay ahead and hope that each practice and tournament will help us put our best efforts forward.”
Men
On the men’s side, the Babson Spring Opener proved to be more of a challenge. Facing some elite competition, the Jeffs managed to bump up their standing from 12th place on the first day of the tournament to 11th on the final day. Sophomore Trip Wray recorded the lowest score (160) for the Jeffs, only 16 strokes above par. Tri-captain senior Chris Valentine tallied 168 over both days but had to settle for a tie in 34th place. Nate Belkin ’12 came up next, just one stroke above Valentine’s score to tie for 36th. The two tri-captains Glenn Wong ’09 and Will Collins ’09 rounded out the Jeffs’ scoring with totals of 174 and 179, respectively.
“The cold windy conditions made scoring extremely difficult,” said Valentine of the Babson Opener. “We look to make improvements in practice this week heading into Skidmore next weekend but in the spring our focus is always on performing best in the Little Threes.”