The Dartmouth men's golf team earned a split against Harvard and Cornell at the first annual Ivy League Match Play event on Cape Cod on Saturday. The Dartmouth women's golf team, meanwhile, shot 700 at the Kelly Gutshall Invitational to finish ninth out of 10.
In a newly introduced format, each Ivy League men's team was paired up with another school in a bracket-style tournament. Dartmouth lost its opening round match to the Crimson, but salvaged its weekend by defeating the Big Red in the second round.
Under this format, each team consists of five players who compete individually against five other golfers on the opposing team in match play. Dartmouth struggled to find its rhythm as a team against Harvard.
"We are really evenly matched with Harvard," head coach Rich Parker said. "My players just got off to a bad start."
Davis Mullany '11 posted the only individual win for the Big Green against the Crimson, while Peter Williamson '12 tied his opponent.
"It's a lot of fun playing against Harvard," Williamson said. "We both made a bunch of birdies, and it was a back-and-forth match."
The Big Green had better luck when the team played Cornell in the afternoon, defeating the Big Red 4-1.
"The matchup against Cornell was a better matchup for us," Williamson said. "We played a lot better in the afternoon."
Dartmouth's top three players, Williamson, Mullany and James Pleat '13, all posted wins against Cornell. The only loss came in the final match, which occurred after Dartmouth had already clinched the match.
There was no Ivy champion crowned, as the two finalists, Yale and Penn, could not play their championship match, which was cancelled due to rain.
The conditions, in fact, were far from ideal for golf over the entire weekend: The high temperature hovered just above 50 degrees, and there were strong, gusty winds.
"You are not as strong in the cold and the wind as you are in the hot and humid summer days," Williamson said. "You have to adjust after a couple holes to the conditions."
Parker said he was pleased with the effort put forth by the Big Green.
"Every year since I got here, we have gotten better, and I have been here for five years." Parker said. "The effort the kids have put on this season has been amazing, and I know we will get better in the spring."
The men's team will finish its fall season at the New England Championships against 41 area colleges and universities this week.
"It will be a very fun tournament," Parker said. "On paper, we are one of the top-five teams. If we play well, we can finish first or second."
Cold weather also played a factor for the Big Green women's golf team at the Kelly Gutshall Invitational held in Bethlehem, Pa.
It snowed on the course Saturday morning, with frigid temperatures lingering through the rest of the day. The Dartmouth women had a tough time adjusting to the weather, shooting a total score of 366 on the first day, the worst score out of all 10 teams.
"It wasn't our best tournament for sure," Katie Gulemi '11 said.
Only nine of 48 golfers in the tournament managed to break 80 on the cold and windy day. Kathleen Quirk '12 led Dartmouth with a score of 87 on the first day and finished the weekend shooting 171, good for 30th place overall.
The Big Green had an easier time on Sunday, as all five players on the team shot a lower score. Gulemi led the team on the second day by shooting a six-over-par 78.
"The weather got warmer on the second day, and that was reflected in our scores," Gulemi said.
Overall, the Big Green women lowered their score by 32 strokes from the first day to second day. Seven out of the nine other teams, however, shot a lower score on Sunday as well.
This weekend's tournament marked the end of the women's fall golf season. The team's best finish this year came at the Dartmouth Invitational, where the team finished fifth.
"We have a lot of potential going forward," Gulemi said. "We know what we need to work on in the off-season, and we are definitely going to be better in the spring."
