Golfers win at Eph Invite

Author: Jason Lockhart

Just like they did in the fall, the women's golf team traveled to Williams and finished first in their last tournament of the season. This top finish, however, was more notable than the fall's because Middlebury outpaced five other teams, compared to three in October. The Panthers combined for a team score of 337, 12 strokes ahead of second place Amherst and well ahead of third place finisher Holy Cross, which finished the tournament with a score of 378.

Captain Heather Gallagher '07 led the Panthers to the victory by shooting an impressive 80 on the Par 71 course, to finish in a tie for first overall with Meg Sullivan of Amherst.

"We are all very happy about our scores this weekend and very optimistic about next year," said Gallagher.

The team continued to improve all season but it "Started off rough both personally and for the team at the Wellesly tournament," admitted Tory MacNeil '08, who place fifth overall with a score of 84. "However, we fought back in the Amherst tournament and managed to place second. Finally, everyone played better in this last tournament at Williams and we managed to capture the win both as a team and individually by Heather."

All of the Panthers placed in the top 10 at this week's event. Following Gallagher's and MacNeil's scores were Allison Ortega's '07 score of 87th (seventh) and Karen Levin's score of 90, good for 10th overall.

Despite the loss of Gallagher next fall to study abroad, the team has confidence that with the addition of at least one new recruit they will continue to improve.

"Now we know what it takes to win and we are definitely capable making NCAAs next year as a team," remarked Levin. "We will set our goals high and try and reach them through solid play next year." She added, "Overall though, I am proud of our team for all of our success this season."