In its final tune-up before NESCAC Championships, the men’s golf team travelled to Williams last weekend, April 20 and 21, to compete in the Williams Spring Challenge at Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, Mass. The team came away in fourth place, posting a total combined score of 649 strokes. Host Williams won the tournament by carding 633 strokes, followed by Hamilton (645) and Trinity (647).
Rob Donahoe ’14 led the way for the Panthers, shooting 78 on Saturday, followed by an 83 on Sunday. He finished eighth overall in the tournament. Following Donahoe was Eric Laorr ’15, who struggled with a first-day finish of 88. Laorr then chopped off 10 strokes on Sunday to finish with 166. William Prince ’13 also improved on the second day, ending up with a score of 168. Andrew Emerson ’13 (167), Max Alley ’14 (168) and Chris Atwood ’14 (169) rounded out the Panthers line-up.
The weather conditions and course layout both made play difficult and led to high scores throughout the field.
“Everyone was playing the same course so there is no excuse for our poor performance relative to the other NESCAC schools taking part,” said Prince.
The men will seek to defend their NESCAC title next weekend at Trinity, where they will compete against Williams, Hamilton and Trinity for the conference championship. The team returns all five golfers from last year’s top five. It will also attempt to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championship, which the Panthers did last season before missing the cut after the national tournament’s second round.
“We have a lot of work to do this week in preparation for NESCACs,” said Prince. “We are definitely going in with a bit of a chip on our shoulder after getting beat by our primary NESCAC rivals the last two weekends.”
The Middlebury women’s golf team placed third at the Jack Leaman Invitational this Saturday, April 20. Amherst hosted the tournament at the Hickory Ridge Country Club in Massachusetts.
Ithaca claimed victory shooting a two-day combined score of 642, followed by the Panther’s adversary Williams at 644. The Panthers rounded out the podium with a 656.
Jordan Glatt ’15 led the Panthers for the second weekend in a row tying for seventh overall after two consistent days. Glatt shot 80 and 81 for a combined 161. First-year Monica Chow ’16 tied for 10th, shooting 164 after taking six strokes off Saturday’s round. Caroline Kenter ’14 and Michelle Peng ’15 also shot six strokes fewer on Sunday for a combined 166 to tie for 16th. Captain Keely Levins ’13 tied for 16th with Kenter and Peng as well.
Overall, each golfer made improvements on Sunday, helping to position the team in third. The team was also very consistent as a group, with its final scores separated by only five strokes.
“We know that we can score low, but it is all about timing,” said Peng. “We struggle to put together four good scores at the same time. The first day we put ourselves into a hole that was really hard to come back from. So even though we won the Sunday, we couldn’t make up for Saturday’s performance.”
The Panther’s will try one last time this season to best Williams at the Williams Invitational this coming weekend, April 27 and 28.
“Although no one had a light’s out round, we all did our part and we were able to win the day,” said Peng. “It validated us as a team and gives us fuel for Williams next weekend."
CHRISTINE SCHOZER COVERS THE WOMEN'S GOLF TEAM AND KEVIN YOCHIM COVERS THE MEN'S TEAM
