Depth of women's golf propels team to third place at William and Mary invite

In Jamestown, Va., in 1612, John Rolfe produced the first Virginia tobacco crop, the taste of which the English actually enjoyed. But certainly success tasted no worse to the women's golf team this weekend when, having traveled to nearby Williamsburg, Va., it smoked Yale.

At the William and Mary Invitational this weekend, the Tigers topped the Elis by a margin of 16 strokes and held their own in a highly competitive field of golf powerhouses and scholarship schools. Taking third place out of 18 with a score of 319-312—631, Princeton fell only to James Madison and William and Mary, which brought home scores of 309-304—613 and 313-313—626, respectively.

"We wanted to beat Yale for sure," freshman Vanessa Redman said. "[But after the first day], we started focusing on whether or not we could beat some of the other teams."

Bonfire?

Yale, which was only one stroke behind the Tigers on day one, went up in flames in the second round when Princeton shot 312 to Yale's 327. The Elis finished up 320-327—647 while Princeton was off challenging other teams. The Tigers even gave the Tribe a run for its money, beating William and Mary by one stroke on the second day.

"This [was] a very strong tournament," senior captain Meagan Smith said. "We weren't even in the same group as Yale [on the second day]. We were playing against teams where every player had the potential to shoot 75.

"To come in third says a lot about the strength and depth of the team."

And once again the Tigers have proven their depth. Over the course of the weekend, four of the Tigers shot an 80 or below at least once, and Redman shot 75-75—150 to tie for third place individually in the tournament.

Taking full advantage of her new and improved swing — which she learned only a few months ago — she made up for a short game that bordered on inefficiency. A little less than half her shots were putts.

Also contributing to the team's success with sub-80 shooting was junior Natalie Christensen, who came back with a score of 79-78—157. A recent thumb injury perhaps made this performance a little more painful for Christensen, though certainly no less sweet; she finished up the weekend tied for seventh place.

Milestone

The newcomer to the traveling team, freshman Megan Milam, was a key factor as well as she broke 80 for the first time in collegiate competition. From her score of 82 the first day, she subtracted three to shoot 79.

"It's interesting to see Megan Milam improve and improve," head coach Eric Stein said.

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Smith also shot a solid 80 the first day, but, when she had a problem with her scorecard, she honorably told the officials even though she knew she would be disqualified.

"You have no option but to let them know," Stein said. "We're going to always play that game the way it should be — up-front and honest."

Such an action was all the more difficult in what was a tournament of incredibly intense competition, especially when it came down to the final 18 holes. One could literally hear the tension when one of the golfers from William and Mary with whom Milam was playing — a seemingly relaxed and easygoing golfer — even became so frustrated as to snap a three-iron in half.

But the intensity only helped the Tigers come together as a team and really focus in on their goal.

"We were really united as one," Redman said. "We have a very, very, very good chance of winning Ivies."

But even with such a huge success over Yale, Princeton is not willing to rest on its laurels. The Tigers will face the Elis again at their next tournament, and once again at the Ivy League Championships.

"They loom out there as a really solid team," Stein said.