The women's golf team dusted off its clubs and traveled to Edinburg, Texas over spring break to train and compete in the Lady Bronc Classic. At the meet, hosted by Texas-Pan American, the Big Green finished 16th of 16 in a strong field.
The University of Hawaii won the team championship with a three-day, 54-hole total of 984. Host Texas-Pan American's Nancy Verastegui won the individual title with rounds of 84-76-76--236. Dartmouth's Sara Vogler '96 tied for 32nd place out of 86 competitors with rounds of 92-85-78--255.
Wichita State's team took runner-up honors, followed by Texas-Pan American, Arkansas State and Mexico's Pre-Selection, or World Cup team. Other teams competing included the University of Texas El-Paso, Oral Roberts, San Diego State and Princeton.
Dartmouth arrived at a Rancho Viejo, Texas resort on Wednesday, March 13th. The team used three days under sunny skies "to find our swings, shake a little snow out of our golf bags and get back on track," as Coach Izzy Johnson put it.
From there the team moved on to the Treasure Hills Country Club in Harlingen, Texas for the Lady Bronc Classic. The course at Treasure Hills is a long one, 5,953 yards to be exact, and, as an additional challenge, has a lot of water.
The course also has tight lies, or shorter grass, which keeps golfers from sweeping the ball as much as they might on the longer grass courses found in the Northeast.
"The winds really blew the first day," Johnson said. "I think they were clocked around 50 mph. Just trying to keep the ball on the course with that kind of wind was a struggle."
On day one of the three-day tournament when the winds were the worst, scores were high for all teams. The Big Green scored 405 as a team. Experience proved to be the key for the Green as Vogler led with a 92, followed by fellow senior Heidi Corderman's 98.
The second day began with winds that were not quite as strong as the day before, and the scores reflected that. The team scored a much improved 362, led again by Vogler's 85. Corderman shot a solid 87, and Meredith Johnson '98 shot 90.
The final day of competition brought even more improvement and a team score of 355. Vogler and Corderman were the top guns again, shooting 78 and 91, respectively. Jessica Hughes '97 picked up her game and shot a 92, and Meredith Johnson shot 94.
"We all really improved after the first day. It seems like we will have a strong team this season," Corderman said.
Eight players made the trip to Texas, but only the top five qualifiers from each team could count in the team score.
The other three played as individuals, scoring well. Notably, co-Captain Jami Papa '96 had her best two rounds as an individual at the collegiate level, shooting 86 on the second day and 87 on the third.
"I am just pleased that the team improved each day. On our last day there we played a casual round and all eight scores were under 90," Coach Johnson reported.
Next up for the linksters is the Boston University Invitational on April 6-7.
The meet will be held at Cape Cod's Oyster Harbor, where high winds like those seen at the Lady Bronc Classic may be a potential factor. The lessons the Big Green learned in Texas should benefit them if that possibility becomes a reality.
