Women's golf lands second place at Vassar Invitational

Author: James Schwerdtman

Early spring in New England often brings with it a dastardly mix of cold, rain, mud and the occasional snowfall. In a sport like golf, the quality of performances is dependent on the quality of playing conditions. The Middlebury women's golf team encountered a harsh bout of this weather last weekend at the Vassar Invitational.

"The conditions were terrible," said Jesse Bluestein '11. "It was cold and rainy all weekend and the course wasn't in good shape at all."

Liz Hirsch '11 was also quick to point out the conditions were awful, "especially on the second day, it was pretty terrible. The greens were just about unplayable, and it was really wet out."

The combination of the long winter, heavy volume of play and recently aerated greens dampened the Panther spirit to some extent. The squad ultimately succeeded, however, and still had a strong showing, finishing in second place - only two strokes behind Amherst.

"It went pretty well for our first tournament," said Courtney Mazzei '11. Mazzei shot the lowest score for the team on the weekend, finishing third overall with a 161 in the twelve-school tournament.

"It was good to get some initial rounds in," said Bluestein, who was disappointed in her weekend performance after coming off of a very solid spring trip to Florida. Her combined 182 was good enough to place her fourth on the team, but the tally was far higher than what she typically shoots.

"The highlight of my weekend was the woodchuck on the course on Sunday," she said. "I did not play well this weekend."

The Panthers finished Saturday's rounds trailing six strokes to the Lord Jeffs which, for the most part, was better than expected.

"Going into the second day, everyone knew they needed to take a couple strokes off their game to give us a chance to win," said Mazzei. The team stepped up their play as four of the five girls shot lower scores on Sunday than they had on Saturday.

This late surge improved the team score by 18 strokes. However, despite the heroic comeback, Amherst prevailed, and the Panthers came up just short, behind by only two strokes.

Julie Ellenberger '09 led the charge on Sunday, shooting the lowest round for the tournament with a score of 75.

"Julie's round on the second day was phenomenal," said Bluestein. "This early in the season, it's really impressive to see such a low score, and she played really well."

Flora Weeks '12 also improved her game from Saturday to Sunday, cutting two strokes from her 83 in the first round. "She didn't seem happy with her first day," said Mazzei. "She really came through on Sunday."

While the tough conditions definitely had a negative effect on the Panthers, the team is in a good position following the first tournament. Despite beating the Lord Jeffs in the fall, the recent loss gives no reason for panic at this point.

"Obviously it's a little disappointing when you don't win," said Mazzei, "but we are off to a good start. We're working on all the kinks in the game and we're getting better every day."

Hirsch was also very optimistic, despite some disappointment. "It was not the best weekend," she said. "I think when we play again in a couple weeks we'll be much stronger as a team."

Bluestein was the most excited for the team's next tournament at Amherst in two weeks. "Amherst is going to be a real opportunity to come out and play better, and I know we'll all take advantage of that," she said.