After top-five finishes at their season-opening tournaments, the Dartmouth men's and women's golf teams had high hopes heading into last weekend's competitions. Unfortunately, both squads underperformed, as the men placed 10th out of 11 teams at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Ala., while the women finished 14th in the 16-team Yale Intercollegiate field in New Haven, Conn.
The Big Green women finished with a total three-round score of 977, well behind the champions from Nova Southeastern University, who tallied a score of 859. The Big Green also fell short in comparison to the other Ivy League competition as Harvard University placed third and host Yale University finished right behind in fourth. Princeton University, Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania all finished in the top 11.
"Last weekend, we had the home advantage and knew the golf course like the back of our hand," Jane Lee '15, Dartmouth's top scorer, said. "Yale's course was very different in that it had a lot of blind shots, and its countermeasures could only be learned after many rounds of practice at course."
Lee tied for 26th overall with a final score of 229 (+13). Lee played three consistent rounds, carding a 78 on the first day and a 75 on the second day before finishing with a final-round 76.
"I feel it was natural that I played better on the second day than the first," Lee said.
The next best finisher for the Big Green was Sarah Knapp '14, who tied for 59th overall with a score of 246 (+30). Emily Hyman '13 posted a score of 254 (+38) to tie for 70th, while a pair of freshmen, Lily Morrison '16 and Jessica Goldstein '16, rounded out the top five, finishing in a tie for 73rd and 77th, respectively.
Last year, the Big Green captured the ECAC Championship, and the team is optimistic that it can defend its title this weekend at Twisted Dune Golf Club in New Jersey.
"Hopefully, we will be able to do it again," Lee said. "I believe that we would only need to shave off one or two shots a day to make it happen."
On the men's side, a disappointing finish was also in store, as the team placed 10th at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate after taking fifth at The McLaughlin last weekend. Louisiana State University topped the leaderboard at Shoal Creek with a three-round score of 864, while the Big Green delivered a final total of 913. The three-round tournament ran from Sunday through Tuesday.
"I think we leave Alabama a little disappointed, but it was really cool to be a part of this tournament, and the course was outstanding as well," captain James Pleat '13, who finished as the Big Green's top scorer, said. "The difference between last weekend and this weekend was most notably the course. This week, the course was much more demanding, and even par is a very good round to shoot."
Pleat finished in a tie for 21st with a score of 223, seven-over-par, and had his best day on Monday finishing with an even round. Rodolfo Cazaubon of the University of North Texas and Stewart Jolly and Curtis Thompson of LSU finished in a three-way tie for first in the individual standings, each tallying a six-under 210.
"None of us really played awesome, but our second round showed that we can post good scores on tough courses and hang with some other really good teams," Pleat said. "I myself played solid golf at a course that I played in a tournament a few years ago, but at the same time I could have saved some more shots as well."
Charlie Edler '15 finished with a score of nine-over-par and was Dartmouth's second finisher in a tie for 29th. Charles Cai '16 (+14), Joey Maziar '14 (+22) and Dan Slavin '15 (+39) rounded out Dartmouth's top five.
The Big Green was the only Ivy League team represented in the tournament, and the squad faced very difficult competition at Shoal Creek.
"I think we are in the top three in the Ivy League," Pleat said. "Obviously, it was tough to lose Pete Williamson ['12], who was one of the best players in Ivy League history, but we still have a solid team that could make a championship run."
The Big Green men will next compete at the Big Five Invitational in Pennsylvania Oct. 12-14.
"We have a couple weeks off, so we are going to practice hard and work on our weaknesses," Pleat said. "Next tournament, we hopefully will be sharp and improve on our first two tournaments of the season."
The women's team will return to the course on Friday as the ECAC Championship kicks off in New Jersey.
