Both the men’s and women’s golf team headed to conference rivals this weekend, travelling to Williams College and Middlebury College, respectively. The men finished tied for sixth place in the NESCAC Championship Qualifier while the women’s team made their way up the leader board at the Middlebury Invitational, finishing in first place to mark their first team victory of the fall.
Men
The men’s team had to deal with soggy conditions that delayed play for a little over an hour on Saturday and inflated scores all around, with the Jeffs posting a 318 on day one. However, with improved conditions on Sunday, the Jeffs pared eight shots off their score to 310, leaving them tied for sixth with Colby College at a two-day total of 628. The team just missed making fifth place, with Tufts University shooting three strokes better at 625. Hamilton College finished in second place, at 597, after grabbing the early lead with a 291 on day one. Williams came storming back with a 298 on day two to grab the title at 595. Trinity College, at 603, and Middlebury, at 608, rounded out the top five.
The Jeffs were again lead by the tandem of Nate Belkin ’12 and co-captain Trip Wray ’11, who finished tied for 17th (75-78-153) and tied for 25th (79-77-156), respectively. Wray downplayed the importance of weather to the team’s performance.
“I don’t think the weather was an issue. Sure, it made the golf course play a little more difficult, but the conditions were the same for every team,” said Wray. “I think the setup of the golf course hurt us the most. We’re a pretty long-hitting team, and the golf course was setup fairly short, so it did not really exploit one of our main strengths.”
Co-captain Adam Shniderman ’10 shot a team-low 75 on Sunday and finished with a 158, good for a tie for 30th. Alex Butensky ’13 finished the tournament tied for 37th with a 161, and Mike Belkin ’12 finished tied for 44th with a 168.
The team concludes its fall season Oct. 19-20 at the NEIGA Championships in Brewster, Mass.
Women
The women’s golf team took a commanding five-stroke lead on the first day of Middlebury Invitational and never looked back. The Jeffs shot a 318 on Saturday, and finished the tournament with a nine-stroke lead over runner-up Williams with a score of 643.
Hayley Milbourn ’11 lead the charge for a second straight week, ending up atop the leader board after firing a 76-76-152. Milbourn finished four strokes ahead of Elaine Lin ’12, who put in a solid effort, closing at second place with a 78-78-156.
Nina Yoo ’12 finished with an 80-84-164, good for a tie for 10th place, while Laura Monty ’12 earned a 13th place finish after shooting a 78-88-167. First-year Liz Monty (16th place with 85-85-170), and captain Kinne Schwartz ’10 also chipped in (21st place with an 89-86-175), helping the team pick up its first win of the season.
The victory should bode well as the team rolls into Williams next week for the Williams Invitational.