Women Place Second, Beaney, Louie Honored

For the second consecutive tournament, the Middlebury women’s golf team finished as the runner up, trailing only hosts Williams at the Williams Fall Invitational at Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, Mass. The women claimed second place with a score of 639 strokes, 10 strokes behind rival Williams. Ithaca (643), Amherst (644) and Mount Holyoke (649) rounded out the top five.

The Panthers led the field after the first day with a strong team score of 313. They regressed on Sunday, however, falling behind Williams but holding Ithaca and Amherst at bay to salvage their strong first day performance.

Monica Chow ’16 and Michelle Peng ’15 both earned top-10 individual finishes for Middlebury. Chow (156) finished in a tie for sixth place and her day-one 75 was one of the best rounds of the tournament. Peng (158) tied for 10th-place overall, followed by teammates Theodora Yoch ’17 (161) and Jordan Glatt ’16 (164), both of whom finished in the top 20. Team captain Caroline Kenter ’14 (176) finished out the Panthers squad.

“It felt great to end the fall season with our best performance yet,” Peng said. “The team greatly improved this fall as individuals and as a group.”

The women’s golf team completed the fall season with top-three finishes in all five of their tournaments. The team will look to continue its success this spring, when the women will play in several tournaments before competing in the NCAA Division III Championship.

While the men did not compete last weekend, the team still enjoyed a noteworthy week. Head coach Bill Beaney and John Louie ’15 were named NESCAC Coach and NESCAC Player of the Year, respectively.

Beaney, in his 20th year as head coach, has previously led the Panthers to NESCAC Championships in 1999, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. He has a chance to add a seventh trophy as this year’s team has qualified for the NESCAC Championships, which will take place at Middlebury at the end of April. It is the second time Beaney has earned Coach of the Year honors, previously winning the award in 2007.

The Player of the Year is awarded to the player who wins the NESCAC Qualifying tournament, which Louie captured Sept. 28 and 29 with an impressive 36-hole 145.

“I have learned to trust my swing and how to be creative on the golf course,” Louie said. “Coach Beaney helped me with my attitude about playing golf by emphasizing the need to have a good mindset out on the course and to grind it out because every shot counts.”

“He had a great weekend of play,” Beaney said. “He mentally really got his game together.”

Louie narrowly edged teammate Rob Donahoe ’14 for the award, finishing one stroke ahead of his senior captain. Donahoe was named to the All-NESCAC First Team this season alongside teammates Louie and Chris Atwood ’14.

The men’s team will compete in the ECAC Championship this weekend at Crumpin-Fox Club in Bernardston, Mass.