Heading into last weekend's NCAA Regionals, the women's golf team knew that all five members would have to play their best golf of the season if the team was to advance to the NCAA Finals.
Those necessary performances never came to fruition, however, and Princeton finished a disappointing 20th out of 21 teams competing after compiling a three-day team score of 995.
Despite the poor finish, just making it to NCAAs was a feat for the Tigers. It was the first appearance in the NCAAs for Princeton ,which earned the Ivy League's first automatic berth with a win at the Ivy Championships earlier this season.
"It was a really special experience playing at NCAAs," senior Julia Allison said. "You don't get that kind of atmosphere playing in the Ivy League."
Eight teams made the finals, led by Tulsa, which won the event with a team score of 904. California finished eighth with a score of 940 — 55 strokes better than Princeton. The Golden Hurricane, Bears and six other qualifiers will head to the Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort at Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., for the national finals, May 23-25.
"Going into the tournament we knew we had the skill level to compete, we just didn't play our best golf," Allison said.
The Tigers were led by freshman Esty Dwek, who shot rounds of 76, 81 and 81 on a tough course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind.
Dwek finished in a tie for 41st overall with her performance, 22 strokes behind individual medalist Kari Damron of host Purdue. Damron finished with an even par total of 216 for the event.
Allison was Princeton's second-best finisher, shooting back-to-back 79s the first two days before the wind kicked up, and her score ballooned to 84 for the final round. The three-day total of 242 put Allison in a tie for 58th place.
This weekend marked the end of Allison's collegiate career, in which she earned two Ivy individual titles and was one of the most decorated women's golfers in the school's history.
"This was a great way to end a career," Allison said. "Being part of this team was a good experience."
Senior Natalie Christensen and sophomore Vanessa Redman both finished with totals of 259 after solid scores the first two days jumped into the 90s on the third day as the wind increased and the course played longer than its 6040 yards.
Senior Adrienne Gill struggled to rounds of 85, 91 and 92 in her final collegiate tournament to finish alone in 105th place.
While the 20th-place finish was a tough end to the Tigers' season, the trip to the NCAA Tournament bodes well for the future.
"It was a good place to play and the experience of being in the NCAA Tournament was something to remember," Allison said.
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