Katie Gulemi '11 and Kathleen Quirk '12 led the Big Green in scoring, both shooting 18 over par, 162. The duo posted identical first- and second-day scores, shooting 80 and 82. They tied for 36th in the individual scoreboard.
Gulemi has now led the Big Green in scoring all four tournaments this season. She maintained her good form this weekend, especially in the first round where she finished with an eight-over par, 80.
In addition to Gulemi and Quirk, the other scorers for the Big Green in the tournament were Tory Sheppard '09 and Marietta Smith '12, who both shot 19-over. Lauren Stricker '09 came back on day two to card a team-low 80, eight over par, after an 85, 13 over par, on Saturday.
The Big Green finished in the middle of the pack both days, shooting 321, 33 over par, on the first day, and 326, 38 over par, on the second.
The mid-table finish will be seen as an improved showing from last weekend's Yale Invitational, where the Big Green finished 15th out of 18 teams in a rain-shortened tournament, and the prior weekend's Princeton Invitational, where Dartmouth placed 15th out of 16 teams.
Princeton University took first place with a score of 23 over par, 599. St. John's University and Boston College were second and third, shooting 615 and 622, respectively. Tournament host William and Mary College finished seventh with 642, 66 over par.
The Tigers led the tournament wire to wire, dominating the second round of play shooting a two-over 290. The closest competition was Boston College, who finished the day 13 shots behind.
Among the three Ivy League schools competing, Dartmouth finished in the middle, sandwiched between Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania.
The first day saw many high scores, with the best individual score being an even-par 72, and the best team-score being a 21-over 309. During the second day of play, however, the scores were generally lower, with two players breaking par.
Despite this trend, all four Big Green scorers shot worse the second round of play. Gulemi and Quirk both turned in scores that were two shots higher the second day, while Smith and Sheppard were one and three shots higher, respectively.
The ground lost on the second day will be of some concern for the Big Green as it prepares for the Ivy League tournament this spring.
"It's something we want to address," Gulemi said. "We have a young team, and golf is a very mental sport. It's difficult because we can't practice things like that, but we'll definitely address it."
The tournament had a field full of scholarship schools, showing that the Big Green has the ability to compete with tough competition.
"It's definitely good to come in the top 10 with so many scholarship schools," Gulemi said. "We can attract some students who might want to play golf professionally later and show that we compete even though we're not a scholarship school."
The end of the fall campaign will allow Dartmouth to tighten up its play on the course before the team moves indoors for the winter.
"We're pushing each other and being competitive, and we're getting better," Gulemi said. "There's definitely room for improvement but it's good that not one player is the outright best, and we all compete to qualify each week."
The warm weather made for dryer conditions this weekend as opposed to last week's rainy weather, and the Big Green was helped by the change in scenery.
"The different type of grass was a challenge, but it was a nice change," Gulemi said.
Princeton, winning the tournament by 16 strokes, improved upon its ninth-place finish in last weekend's Johnie Imes Invitational at Columbia, Mo. The Tigers and Harvard will be two strong opponents for the Big Green this spring.
Historically, the ECAC tournament has seen the winner takes home the title easily. Last year, Harvard won the title by 19 strokes-over Lehigh University. Dartmouth finished fifth with 641, 65 over par.
The Big Green is in action one final time this fall, when the team travels to Fairfield, Conn. for the Sacred Heart Invitational the weekend of Sunday, Oct. 26.
