The men's team was coming off the Rutgers Invitational two weeks ago, where it finished 14th in a field of 16 teams, and the women's golf team was ninth out of 13 teams in the Princeton Invitational held this past week.
Only one of the teams, however, was successful in turning its fortunes around. The men's squad played well as hosts of the Dartmouth Invitational at the Hanover Country Club, while the women's team played below its capabilities for the second straight week at The Course at Yale in New Haven, Conn.
On the men's side, the Big Green was third out of a field of 12 teams, posting a team score of 610. Binghamton University emerged victorious, putting up a score of 596.
For the men, Jamie Wallace '08 and Rob Henley '09 both carded the team's lowest score, tying for seventh overall. Wallace shot 77-75-152 and Henley shot 76-76-152. Also scoring for the Big Green on the weekend were Alex Abate '09 with 77-77-154 and co-captain Stephen Reyes '07 with 81-74-155. Abate was tied for 13th individually, and Reyes went into the clubhouse tied for 16th.
Due to the heavy rain in Hanover over the weekend, course conditions were far from optimal. However, this may have actually played into Dartmouth's hands. The Big Green was in fifth after the first day, but on Sunday the squad shot the lowest score on the day to improve its position to third, while others struggled in the rain.
"The rain made it harder for everyone, which probably benefited us a little because we are more used to those kinds of conditions," said Henley.
Although the men's squad had an impressive showing, the team is already focused on getting an even better result next week.
"Coming in third isn't that bad, but it would have been nice to win our own tournament," Henley said. "Hopefully next weekend we play two good rounds instead of only one."
The women's team once again failed to hit its stride, finishing 10th out of 11 teams. The Princeton Tigers won the team title for the second straight tournament, asserting themselves as the team to beat in the Ivy League. Annika Welander, a Princeton junior, was the top individual finisher for the second straight week, carding a 76-70-146.
Co- captain Anne Daher '07 was the women's low scorer with 80-83-163, tying for 29th place overall. Rounding out the scoring for the weekend were Lauren Strickler '09 and Sunny Zhang '10 with 89-78-167, and Tory Sheppard '09 with 91-82-173.
Like their male counterparts, the women in green were plagued by bad weekend weather. With its narrow fairways, The Course at Yale poses a notable challenge even in good weather.
"The conditions this weekend were very tough," Zhang said. "The first day played very long due to the back placements of the tee boxes. The second day was tough due to the heavy rain and strong winds."
Even though the Dartmouth women were not satisfied with their performance over the weekend, there are signs that things are starting to improve for the team. On Saturday, the squad put up a 348, but came back and ground out a 321 on Sunday.
"My play this weekend was indicative of the team's play as I did not play well on Saturday by shooting an 89, but then I played much better today with a 78," Strickler said. "My Sunday round was very consistent, and it felt like I should have shot even lower."
"It was important to be patient out there and keep on grinding. I felt that the girls did a great job doing that the second day," Zhang added.
Next week, the men's squad will tee of at the The Course at Yale in New Haven, Conn., while the women's team travels to the ECAC championships to be held at Kiskiack Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.
