After a winter-long hiatus, the Dartmouth women's golf team returned to the course, teeing off at the C&F Bank Intercollegiate and the Cincinnati Invitational over spring break. The Big Green placed 16th in both events.
"It was good to have this as a starting base, especially since we were not able to train in the winter," captain Katie Gulemi '11 said. "It was good to get outside, and I know a couple of girls used this to regain some confidence and strategy in their game."
The women opened their season at the C&F Bank Intercollegiate, which was hosted by the College of William & Mary and included competition from 20 other teams.
Heather Roland '12 helped the Big Green on the first day with an eight-over 80, as Dartmouth finished day one tied for 15th place with a 339 (+57).
Roland led the team after the first day of the event, holding 28th place before the second round started. Emily Hyman '13 posted an 88 (+16), while Marietta Smith '12 and Colleen Carroll '13 each scored a 90 (+18).
In the second round, Gulemi led the team with an 81 (+9), helping Dartmouth finish the tournament with a final score of 670.
"You can hit a shot a million different ways, and there are different ways to score, but we focused on learning how to mentally attack the game," Gulemi said. "We had to develop a strategy for developing the short game, which is how you win golf tournaments."
Of the 112 competitors, Gulemi's total score of 162 (+18) placed her in a tie for 30th individually and marked a team best. Roland followed with a 164 (+20), tying for 40th place.
The Big Green managed to improve eight strokes on the second day of the event to place 16th. William & Mary finished in first place.
Dartmouth also saw action last weekend at the Cincinnati Invitational in Crystal Springs, Fla., hosted by the University of Cincinnati.
Ending the first round in 16th, Dartmouth remained stationary through the entire event, ending the tournament in the same position, posting a total of 989 strokes.
The Big Green went through a grueling first round of 36 holes, requiring more stamina than the following day's course.
"We practiced at 7:15 in the morning, teed off at 9 a.m., and ended at 8 p.m. it was just a long mental grind," Gulemi said. "That's what our golf team had to be focused and aware about, and it was cool to see that mental toughness develop [through the round]."
Gulemi again delivered for the Big Green and notched the team's best results, tying for 53rd place with a 240 (+24).
Kathleen Quirk '12 finished with her highest team finish of the season, trailing only Gulemi. She took 75th place overall, shooting a 249 (+33).
The Big Green will now prepare for its own tournament the Dartmouth Invitational to be held on April 10-11 in Cape Cod, Mass.
The women will then have one more tournament hosted by Columbia University before the Ivy Championships.
"Our goal [this season] is definitely to play our best and also have fun, but to also look ahead to the Ivy Championships because how you rank against the Ivies is a big part of our season," Gulemi said. "We hope to be at our peak for that, and these tournaments were really good starting points because it showed what we need to work on."
With a week off before its next competition and warmer weather on the horizon, the team will have a chance to put in more outdoor practice for the big event, but the golf course has not yet opened and does not have a scheduled opening date, Gulemi said.
Instead, the team will continue to practice at the golf center in West Lebanon and use the newly integrated indoor facility in Leverone Fieldhouse.
"I saw the facility for the first time a few weeks ago, and it is a very cool place to practice," Gulemi said. "It has electronic trackers, and it tells you what spin angle and trajectory you are hitting at, and it's an awesome tool that we want to take full advantage of."
While the women prepare to host their tournament in Cape Cod where they will be facing harsher weather conditions than at their previous tournaments the men's golf team will kick off its own Spring season this Saturday at the Yale Invitational in New Haven, Conn.
