Women
The women’s golf team flashed some of its potential this weekend at the Dartmouth Invitational, finishing with a solid team score of 668 over two days of play in Hanover.
The score was good enough for third-best among Div. III team participants — certainly a favorable result this early in the season. Captain Hayley Milbourn ’11 set the pace for the team with a combined score of 163 over the two-round tournament, worthy of 28th overall amongst the 115 competitors. Junior Elaine Lin and sophomore Liz Monty also posted top-50 finishes with scores of 165 and 167, respectively. First-year Sooji Choi and junior Nina Yoo each shot in the low 170’s, rounding out the team’s 11th overall finish from amidst the 20 competing schools. “The entire tournament field has become more competitive this year,” said Milbourn of the result. “We will have to focus each day with the knowledge that every other team is working hard as well.”
Expectations are high for this year’s women’s golf team, and the team is firmly confident in their ability to compete. “I believe that we can, and should, win every upcoming tournament this season once we shake off the early nerves,” Milbourn responded when asked of her hopes for the team this season. “Last weekend served as a great starting point for our season,” she continued. The result could have been even more favorable for the women’s team had it not been for some struggles on short-yardage par threes, with the team managing a disappointing +31 on five par threes. However, the team did post an impressive team score on the lengthy par fives, shooting +19 on five par fives — the eighth-best team score on par fives in the tournament.
Only 10 strokes separated Amherst and Williams at this weekend’s tournament in Hanover — an exciting development for the Lord Jeff faithful, as it should prove to be an intriguing struggle for rivalry bragging rights all year. The women’s team will be back in action next weekend at The Orchard in South Hadley, set to fulfill the hopes many have for this year’s promising team.
Men
The men’s golf team played its second tournament of the season this weekend, producing a respectable showing at Middlebury’s 27th Duke Nelson Invitational. Trip Wray ’11 led the way with a team-low 157 over the tournament’s 36 holes, good enough for a share of 39th overall amongst the 127 competitors. Wray underlined his role as the team’s seasoned veteran this weekend, as he was the only member of the team to improve his score in Sunday’s second round, scoring a 79 and 78 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. “As a team we performed well on Saturday, but we were not able to get anything going on Sunday,” said Wray of the team’s weekend performance. “Middlebury has a tricky golf course that sometimes doesn’t reward good shots.”
Other Amherst players who could boast of shooting a round under 80 include sophomore Alex Butensky, freshman Nicholas Koh and sophomore Ben Johnston. Along with Wray, the three underclassmen combined for an encouraging score of 314 in the first round on Saturday, leading into Sunday’s somewhat disappointing finish.
The team’s bottom-half standing at 16th out of the field of 25 teams may prove to be a misleading projection for the remainder of the season, as each of the team’s top four players flashed the ability to be the leading scorer in any given week. “We used the first two tournaments to get all of our players into a competitive environment to see how they’d respond,” said coach Jack Arena of the team. “Other than the second round at Middlebury, I feel we have performed well.”
With a couple of tournaments now under their belts, these Amherst golfers should settle into a groove soon. Their next test: a tournament at the Taconic Golf Club at Williams College next weekend.