Despite having to contend with inclement weather and a waterlogged course, the Dartmouth women's golf team closed out the season with its best performance of the year on Sunday, finishing in fourth place at William & Mary's Tribe Classic Tournament at Kiskiack Golf Club's 18-hole course in Williamsburg, Va.
The tournament cancelled play Saturday due to heavy rains. Yet the delay did not seem to affect the Big Green and emerged ready for Sunday morning, tying for fourth with Longwood and Old Dominion at 315, +27.
Lauren Strickler '09 was excited to see her team perform so well.
"We shot our best," Strickler said. "[The score] 315 is our lowest for the fall, so we definitely ended our season on a high note."
William & Mary Tribe took the team and individual titles after very close finishes with Harvard and Longwood, respectively. The Tribe finished two strokes fewer than Harvard with 299 +11, setting a school record for the lowest score on an 18-hole course.
William & Mary's Sayde Murray tied for first at 71 with Longwood's Stephanie Hicks when the round ended. In a sudden-death battle, Murray sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole after Hicks settled for par.
Undaunted by a great performance by William & Mary, the Big Green golfers persevered to post some of their best numbers of the fall season.
Team co-captain Hayley Stevens '07 came in sixth place in the individual competition with a two-over 74. Tory Sheppard '09 tied for 17th place with a five-over 77.
Strickler turned in a solid performance with a seven-over 79, while Elizabeth Dupuy '08 came in right behind her freshman teammate at eight-over 80. Co-captain Annie Daher '07 rounded out the team's scores with a ten-over 82.
The Big Green finished a season that marked improvement and displayed great depth. The biggest revelation for Big Green golf fans this fall was the freshman duo of Strickler and Sheppard. The two both proved to be productive additions to the team over the course of the season with each earning a top 20 finish over the course of the fall.
"I think all of us did pretty well [this season]," Stevens said. "Our team is getting better as we get new freshmen."
With another full season of play awaiting the team in the spring, Dartmouth can only hope those freshmen continue to improve.
