Giguere Goes Out with Strong Round

On April 28, two members of the men’s golf team traveled south to the Indian Hills Country Club in Connecticut for the 2018 Nescac Championship. The women’s squad headed to the Taconic Country Club in Massachusetts for the Williams Spring Invitational. The invitational was their final competition of the season. 

Representing Middlebury at the men’s championship were Jeffrey Giguere ’20 and senior Bennet Doherty ’18. Both competed individually and placed sixth and 21st, respectively. Giguere shot a 73 in the first round and a 77 in the second, which combined for a two-round total of 150. Doherty carded respective rounds of 83 and 80 for a two-day total of 163.

Trinity won the tournament as whole, thanks to Bantams like Will Rosenfeld and Kole Kelly, who tied for first on the individual leaderboard. Amherst placed second, with three golfers tying for fourth individually. Williams finished third, while Tufts came in fourth. 

“I hit [the] ball really, really well,” said Giguere. “It was just a continuation of last week, and fortunately there was very little wind, so I felt like I could hit the ball however I wanted.”

Giguere managed to hit 27 out of 36 greens but unfortunately wasn’t able to execute with his putting.

“The only thing I was frustrated about was my putting,” said Giguere. “I couldn’t make a birdie in the second round. My lag putting was so bad — I left myself with very long, hard putts.”

“I’m not really disappointed though with the way I’m hitting it — I thought it was a positive. But of course, I was disappointed that I didn’t get it done.” 

In Williamstown, the women’s squad finished in third in an eight-team field that saw Williams win the tournament. 

Chloe Levins ’20 paced the Panthers, shooting an 80 in the first round before carding a 77 on day two and a tournament total of 157, which was good for sixth place. Senior captain Katharine Fortin ’18 tied for 13th with a total of 161, while Hope Matthews ’18, also a senior captain, shot a 162. She placed 17th. Other Panthers included Helen Dailey ’19, who tied for 28th, and Erika Nakagawa ’21, who tied for 35th. 

Williams won the tournament on the backs of Cordelia Chan and Elizabeth Gudas, who finished first and second with respective scores of 147 and 148. Carnegie Mellon finished second and was led by Summer Kilhara and Charlotte Simpson, who placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Middlebury was followed by Amherst, SUNY Cortland, Hamilton, Suffolk, and LIU Post. 

“I was numb going into the weekend, feeling as if it were just another Williams tournament and not being quite able to comprehend that it was the last,” said Fortin about her emotions heading into the tournament. “We have the same routine every time we play in Williamstown, and it is always my favorite weekend. I hoped to have two stellar rounds, as one would in the last match of their career, but I also know that having a busy spring and coming out of a minimal-golf winter meant my expectations should be low.”

“It was definitely a lot of mixed feelings,” said Matthews, echoing Fortin’s sentiment. “I wanted to play well since I knew it was my last time ever playing golf as a Panther, so I was feeling a lot of pressure from myself.”

“I put all of my emotions into those final rounds,” said Fortin. “With the support of friends and family who came to watch, I felt extremely fortunate that I’ve been playing on this team for four years and [have] shared the ups and downs of each season with all of them. I can’t believe it’s over, but with four amazing years, a couple team titles, and three individual wins, I am feeling happy and proud.”