In the past week, Big Green women's golf has gone out to prove a point: despite the fact that they are small in numbers and are have inexperience playing against them, this is not a rebuilding year. Dartmouth women's golf is here to play.
Dartmouth golf started their season with the Big Green Invitational on September 19-20. They opened solidly with a fourth-place finish among 20 teams. Annie Daher '07 finished in a tie for 11th with a 161, while teammate Hayley Stevens '07 finished one-stroke behind at 14th with a 162. Yale won the tournament, while St. Johns and Harvard finished second and third respectively. Other notables were Ann Kapusta '07 with a 166. Also, two freshmen made their debut with Elizabeth Dupay finishing with a 170 and Elizabeth Wegener with a 172.
This past weekend, the freshmen had another solid finish for the Big Green team with Dupay finishing with a 167, leading Dartmouth to a ninth-place finish among 15 teams that competed. Stevens posted a 172, as did Wegener, while Daher and Kapusta both finished with a 174.
These solid finishes are quite impressive; they come with only five players on the team. While other teams compete with eight or nine players, the Dartmouth team has only five, meaning that every player's score counts. The women's team is also comprised of three sophomores and two freshmen, making this one of the youngest squads in Dartmouth history.
"We have a lot of talent this year, with the freshmen coming in and contributing, and the returning sophomores as well. Everyone is committed to hard work and that will show in years to come," Daher said.
Stevens added, "We have a very young and small team and while in some respects these qualities are weaknesses I really think that we have turned them into strengths. Our squad of five is very close and we are all very enthusiastic about competing."
Though the team lacks numbers, these women believe they have a shot to win tournaments and even capture the Ivy League title. As everyone starts playing more golf, the experience will come, and they will be ready as the season wears on. Next weekend the Big Green makes a trip to Northern Illinois to compete in their third tournament.
