The women’s golf team was in central Massachusetts last Saturday, April 18, where they finished tied with Williams for second in Amherst’s Jack Leaman Invitational. The NESCAC rivals finished with 325 strokes apiece, only one stroke behind the tournament champions, Ithaca College. Rounding out the top five were NYU and Mount Holyoke, finishing with 330 and 332 respectively. The host Lord Jeffs finished sixth with 335.
The men’s team, meanwhile, finished in a tie for fourth at the Wildcat Invitational, hosted by Johnson and Wales.
The highlight of the day for the Panther women was Jordan Glatt ’15. Glatt followed her strong outing at the Vassar two weeks ago by winning the individual competition at the Jack Leaman Invitational. She walked off of the 18th hole having registered an even par, 74 strokes, on the day, putting her team in position to finish in the top three. Glatt finished a stroke ahead of second-place Sophie Kitchen from Williams.
“Everything seemed to click this weekend,” Glatt said. “I was striking the ball solidly and had a lot of lucky breaks. This round will be a great memory to have going forward from my final season.”
The other key Panther contributors were Michelle Peng ’15, who tied for 10th with an 82, and Katharine Fortin ’18, who shot an 84 and tied for 20th. Monica Chow ’16 and Hope Matthews ’18 shot 85s and finished in a three-way tie for 26th with Williams’ Elizabeth Gudas. Theodora Yoch ’17 shot a 93 and Sarah Breckinridge ’18 shot a 96 as individuals.
After finishing fourth behind Williams, Ithaca and NYU in last weekend’s invitational at Vassar, the Panthers caught up with their competition Saturday. Their tie with Williams last Saturday is a mark of tremendous improvement following the Vassar Invite when they finished 44 strokes back of their rivals.
“The team performed well this weekend, and we are looking to work off of that going forward,” Glatt said. “We were confident coming into Saturday’s tournament as a result of a strong week of practice. We felt slightly more pressure this week because the tournament was only one day, but the team was able to remain focused and come out with a strong performance.”
The team has built momentum to make some noise next week when it heads to Williamstown for the Williams Invitational. After finishing a stroke back of Ithaca while playing to a tie with Williams last weekend, there will be extra focus placed in practice this week on emphasizing consistency and mental toughness in its preparation.
“Williams and Ithaca are always two of our strongest competitors, and the outcomes from the past two weekends have only made us more determined to improve next week and overtake them at the top of the leaderboard,” Glatt said.
Glatt and Peng, who are both senior captains, will be competing in the last tournament in their Panther golf careers this weekend.
“This week is going to be incredibly meaningful for me and Michelle,” Glatt said. “We have had four wonderful years on the golf team and are incredibly grateful for our teammates and coaches for making this an absolutely amazing experience.”
In men’s action, John Louie ’15 and Charlie Garcia ’15 paced the Panthers by finishing in a tie for 15th, each shooting a 13-over 155 over two days. After hanging with the leaders through one round by shooting a three-over 74, Louie’s 81 on day two pushed him back into the pack. Garcia was more even in his approach, shooting 77 and 78 on the two days of competition.
Fitz Bowen ’17 tied for 25th in 157, while Eric Laorr ’15 and Bennett Doherty ’18 rounded out the Panther scoring with scores of 158 and 161, respectively.
In the team scoring, the men tied with Salem State for fourth with an overall 622, 12 strokes behind winner Tufts and eight behind rival Williams. Manhattanville College took third to round out the top five teams.
The Panther women tee off on Saturday morning in Williamstown. You can catch the Panther men for the NESCAC championship tournament Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26 at Middlebury’s own Ralph Myhre Golf Course.
