The women’s golf team dominated its home tournament at the Hanover Country Club this past weekend, ending its two-day contest at 22-over par, an 18-stroke victory over second-place University of Hartford. Coming off a fourth-place finish the previous weekend in Annapolis, Maryland, the Big Green rallied to record one of its best rounds in program history with a 294 (+6) on the first day.
The win marked the first time in four years that the women’s golf team took the top spot at the Dartmouth Invitational. Isabelle Kane ’18 described the team’s performance as a “huge improvement from years past.”
“We have a young team, so it’s great to see them do well, seeing as they just started,” Kane said. “It shows signs for a great future. [The freshmen on the team] have such a positive attitude, and that’s great to be around.”
As the golf program seeks to establish a new standard of success, it has turned toward the youngest members of its squad. Four of the five players in the team’s top group this weekend were from the freshman class.
“We know that we can really bring something to the table,” Hana Bradshaw ’19 said.
On the first day, the Big Green’s top group of golfers finished first in a field of 10 teams — which included a second Dartmouth squad — by shooting a 294, only six shots over par. Playing in her second collegiate event, Bradshaw led the team with a one-under 71 in the first round, which placed her alone atop the leaderboard at the end of the first day. Bradshaw was the lone golfer in the field to shoot under par on Saturday.
“I felt as a freshman it was something really special, especially at home,” Bradshaw said.
Julia Calbi ’19 and Kane closely followed Bradshaw’s round-one performance with scores of 73 (+1) each, placing them tied in second heading into the second round. Three out of the five golfers in the Big Green’s feature squad sat in the top two positions on the leaderboard through 18 holes.
Rounding out Dartmouth’s top group, Angela Zhang ’19 shot a 77 (+5), giving her a place in the top 10, and Catherine Roddy ’19 finished eight-over par with an 80 for a tie at 21st with three other golfers. On the Big Green’s B-team, both Lily Morrison ’16 and Jamie Susanin ’17 tied along Zhang at 10th, and the second team was ranked at fourth overall at the end of the round.
Starting day two of the invitational with a nine-stroke lead over second-place Boston University, the Big Green held on for the win with a combined score of 598 (+22) through two rounds.Kane posted the team’s best individual performance of the tournament by shooting a 73 on Sunday to finish in third place at two-over par. Entering the final round tied for second, Kane put up a consistent performance on Sunday, matching her one-over score from Saturday. On the third-place finish, Kane said she “feels great,” but is still looking to improve.
The women had two more golfers finish in the top 10 at the Invitational. After beginning her collegiate career with a second-place overall finish at the Chesapeake Bay Invitational, Calbi tied for fourth at five-over for the weekend after carding a 76 on the final 18. In two career events, Calbi has posted consecutive top-five finishes.
Bradshaw entered the final round atop the leaderboard but could not repeat her under-par performance from Saturday. Bradshaw shot a 79 to finish the tournament in sixth place at six-over par, just one stroke behind Calbi. Dartmouth was the only team at the Invitational to have three players in the top 10. The team, Calbi said, learned a lot from the event.
Hartford finished second at the event, led by senior Brooke Nethercott, who shot one-under for the weekend, winning the tournament individually.
Dartmouth’s second squad finished in seventh, 39 strokes behind its top unit.
“It feels great,” Bradshaw said. “It seems like we all contributed to this win, and being a freshman means I did my part as a teammate and it kind of validates everything I’ve worked for recently.”
Golfers enjoyed fair conditions over the course of the weekend, which gave the Big Green an opportunity to go out and attack its home course.
Dartmouth will travel for its final two contests of its fall season before heading into the winter offseason.
Despite the challenge, the team feels ready to face what will be stiff competition in the ensuing weeks, Calbi said.
“I think we need to stick to our game plan and not over think it,” she said.
The Big Green will head to New Jersey this weekend for the Princeton Invitational where it will have the chance to benchmark itself against other Ivy League competition.
“We want to make a name for Dartmouth golf in the Ivy League,” Calbi said.
