Women's golf takes second at ECACs

Despite the absence of number one player and team leader sophomore Esty Dwek — who was home for the weekend in Switzerland attending her brother's Bar Mitzvah — the women's golf team enjoyed a successful weekend at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament, hosted by Bucknell University.

Freshman Avery Kiser shot a second round 72 for a total of 147 to take the individual title this weekend. Her score helped the Tigers, with an overall score of 646, finish second behind definitive victor James Madison, which shot 619.

Entering the tournament without Dwek, the Tigers knew a formidable task lay before them in facing William & Mary and Ivy rival Brown, both of whom Princeton had but narrowly defeated a fortnight earlier. Yale presented a seemingly impossible task, having defeated Princeton when the Tigers had been playing with their full lineup.

"It was tough playing in one of the biggest tournaments of the fall season without our number one player," Kiser said, "but we went into the tournament with strong mental preparation and played the best we could. That's all we can expect under any circumstance."

Kiser in particular showed her strong mental mettle in coming back from a first round deficit of four strokes to take the title.

In earlier tournaments such as the Penn State Invitational (72, 77) Kiser showed her talent in the first round yet self-admittedly failed to remain composed through the duration of the second round.

That the opposite can be said of this weekend's outing is a credit to Kiser's rapid maturation.

"I was extremely pleased with my strong finish," Kiser said. "After the first round I was four strokes behind the leader, who is a very strong player, and I could have very easily given up and played to get second. However, I was able to grind it out and win the tournament."

On the strength of Kiser's solid second round, Princeton moved from a third place tie with Boston College into second place behind co-leaders James Madison and Yale at the conclusion of the second day. Two weekends ago at the Princeton Invitational, the Tigers finished in the runner-up spot behind Yale, so the shorthanded defeat of the Elis carried a special measure of vindication.

Despite the successful composite team result, no Tiger other than Kiser shot below 160 on the weekend. Junior Vanessa Redman shot 162 (82, 80); freshmen Taryn Haliday and Meg Nakamura carded a 168 (83, 85) and 170 (87, 83) respectively. Sophomore Sarah Kapnick rounded out the team scoring with a 181 (97, 84).

According to Kiser, "there is still plenty of room for improvement" for this team of primarily underclassmen. The frequently cited factor requisite for improvement lies in "learning to play more consistently and with more confidence."

With a confident Kiser and the return of team leader Dwek, the Tigers look ahead to the Georgia State Invitational, scheduled to begin Monday, Oct. 29, in Atlanta, Ga.