Talented women's golf looks ahead

BY JAY GOLDKLANG

After securing a first-place finish at the Yale Women's Fall Intercollegiate Tournament on Sat. and Sun., Sept. 22 and 23, the Eli golfers seemed primed to cruise past upcoming competition. As a result, few spectators expected to see Yale place seventh at the Nittany Lion Women's Fall Invitational on Fri. and Sat., Sept. 28 and 29. While the drop surprised many, it may have been the Bulldogs' lack of tournament experience and the format of the invitational that contributed to their less than stellar showing.

In addition to competing against strong teams like Penn State and James Madison, the Elis faced a challenge with the weekend's style of tournament play. The structure of competition included 36 holes on Saturday and 18 holes on Sunday. Many of the Yale players had never played 36 holes in one day before, perhaps leading to the team's higher scores. Still, despite this lack of experience, Yale shot the third-lowest score in Saturday's second 18-hole round.

COURTESY SPORTS PUBLICITY Women's golf is in the hunt for an Ivy League crown this season.

Coach Mary Moan said the tournament provided valuable opportunities for the golfers to learn from the 36-18 format, adding that several players told her the structure of play on Saturday had made the following day's round seem less demanding. Since many of the Bulldogs' postseason tournaments will be held in this same rigorous format, Moan plans to remind the players of their comfort with the system this past weekend.

The Bulldogs' unfamiliarity with the Penn State course may have also been a factor in their finish; at their first tournament, the golfers had the benefit of playing on their home course. "We definitely had a higher level of comfort while playing on the course we play each day at practice," Captain Sarah Seo, TD '02, said. "It is the hardest course we will ever see in competition, so we used our familiarity with the course to our advantage."

As the Elis look ahead to future tournament play, they hope to improve upon their past team performance by relying upon their experienced upperclassman core and strong freshman class. After ending last season as the second-place team in the Ivy League, the Bulldogs return with hopes of winning the Ivy League crown and advancing through the NCAA regional tournament in 2001. None of last year's players graduated, and this year's freshmen may be among the strongest players in the Ivy League. "With the talent we have added and retained, I feel we can contend every week and consistently beat the better teams we play," Moan said. According to Seo, the 2001 team features "everything from last year plus more." The combination of veteran and rookie play was what led to the team's strong showing in its first competition of the season, as the Bulldogs posted a score of 615 with top individual scores coming from Anna Jepson, TD '05 (fourth place), Seo (seventh), and Stephanie Wei, TC '05 (seventh). Veteran Seo rebounded from a slow start on Saturday to shoot a 71 on Sunday, the best round she has ever shot on her home course.

Freshman golfers Jepson and Wei, who have posted impressive finishes early on, will be called upon to aid the Elis in upcoming tournament play. Though young, Moan credits these players for their maturity and poise on the course. "We have freshmen who are already competing and winning against the better opposing players," she said. "After competing on the national junior circuit during high school, they know they belong with the best. You can't coach that experience."

Moan also believes that team chemistry will result in additional Bulldog success. The freshman and sophomore golfers are benefiting from the guidance of the experienced and talented upperclassmen. "We have a great combination of newer and older players, and we have lots of fun together," Jepson said.

While the season has just begun, the rivalry between Yale, Brown, and Princeton is already intensifying; all three teams are likely contenders for the Ivy League title. Though the Bulldogs were able to beat both teams on their home course, defeating Brown by four strokes and routing Princeton by 21 during the tournament, Prince-ton beat Yale by 10 strokes at the Nittany Lion Invitational.

The three teams, though somewhat even in skill, differ in terms of experience. Since Brown and Princeton are filled predominantly with younger players who have not won important matches in past years, Seo hopes the Bulldogs' familiarity with tense, pressure-filled postseason competition will be the deciding factor in a victorious Yale season.

"As long as we can stay healthy and don't get ahead of ourselves, we should win the Ivy League Championship," Moan said.

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