Weather conditions in the northeast can often cause problems for autumn athletes, but the Dartmouth women's golf team overcame the rain, wind and cold temperatures of last weekend and finished fifth at the Yale Intercollegiate Golf Tournament.
"I was very pleased with our finish because Yale is an extremely difficult golf course -- not to mention it was pouring rain all day Saturday," Coach Izzy Johnson said.
Although the sun came out Sunday, windy conditions continued. But this didn't stop Sara Vogler '96 from shooting 80, which was the low score of the day. With this remarkable shooting, Vogler finished third out of the 57 participants.
"The Yale golf course had always intimidated Sarah," Johnson said. "But her mental attitude pulled through for her and she conquered the course."
Vogler, who was slightly nervous going into the tournament, was more than pleased with her results.
"I was a little worried going into the tournament because I hadn't hit the ball well all week," Vogler said. "I've had some really bad rounds at Yale when I was playing well."
The beginning of the season always proves to be difficult for the Big Green,a team that often consists of inexperienced players.
"Most of our girls are not tournament seasoned," Johnson said. "They have been more social and recreational players, and you just have to go through the competition to feel comfortable with your game at the tournament level."
But the lack of experience didn't intimidate Meredith Johnson '98. She finished in 25th place (with scores of 97 in the first round and 100 in the second), which was good enough to put her in the top half of the pack.
"It was the first time Meredith had seen the Yale golf course," Johnson said. "I think she's capable of shooting in the 80s, but under those conditions that was very good."
Because of the team's scarce amount of tournament play, Johnson said she works on the mental aspects of the game to prepare the Big Green for competition.
"We want to work on our short game -- putting and chipping," Johnson said. "But most of all we'll look at course management and mental strategy. It just takes experience."
The Big Green will travel to Rutgers University in New Jersey this weekend for tournament play, but are currently trying to focus on the upcoming East Coast Athletic Conference tournament, which takes place Oct. 22-25.
The ECACs are the biggest championship game for the Dartmouth team because there is no Ivy League golf championship. "There aren't enough women's golf teams in the Ivy League schools to start a championship." Johnson said. "There needs to be at least five schools and, at the moment, there are only four of us."
The Big Green, who were co-champions at the ECACs two years ago, see Princeton as the strong contender for first place this year among the very competitive Eastern schools.
"Princeton has a loaded team," Johnson said. "I think if we finish in the top half of the field at the ECACs, that would be terrific."
