Hoopes, Milam lead men's golf to third at Georgetown Invitational

The men's golf team has been the Ivy League champion for the last two years, but as far as national rankings are concerned, the Tigers have made major strides as of late, learning their full potential at the Georgetown Hoya Invitational Oct. 28-29 at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Va.

Playing against some of the best teams in the district, including nationally-ranked Penn State and East Carolina, the Tigers finished third out of nearly twenty teams.

Princeton finished with a two-day score of 607, with Penn State finishing at 585 and East Carolina finishing at 587.

Individually, junior co-captain Nat Hoopes and senior co-captain James Milam finished fourth and fifth, scoring 144 and 146 respectively.

On Day One, the Tigers were faced with rough conditions. Due to the low temperatures and wind, the team was happy to shoot par. The team compiled a score of 303 on the first day.

"The first day was really cold and windy; we played okay as a team but not as well as we could have," Hoopes said.

Somewhat stirred but nevertheless persistent, the Tigers came back on Day Two with a better game overall. The second day showed better conditions, and although the team shot one stroke worse, they moved up from fourth to third place.

Overall, the tournament was one of the best finishes in the fall for Princeton.

"It was really good to be five or six shots behind [Penn State]. Especially since we haven't reached our potential yet, it means we'll definitely have a good outlook for the spring," Hoopes said.

The team had finished in second and fourth place in the two tournaments prior to the Georgetown Invite, but had not yet faced most of the top teams in the district, making this particular placing one of the top finishes of the season.

"To finish third with such a good field is a really good way to finish the fall season before we look to the spring," Hoopes said.

After struggling earlier in the season, Hoopes played one of his best tournaments at Georgetown and was able to finish towards the top with Milam.

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"Nat played very well — it was good to see him turn [his game] around and it will definitely give him confidence going into the spring. I managed to score pretty well but I didn't play as well as I would have liked," Milam said.

Milam has had a strong season, playing solidly in the past three tournaments. Junior Cassidy Traub also played well, finishing with a score of 156.

For the rest of the team, the tournament was not necessarily their strongest showing.

"I know how frustrated some of them were. As a team, we definitely could have taken the victory, but I'm really pleased in terms of our position in the district," Hoopes said.

Sophomore Greg Johnson shot a 161 and freshman David Huestis fired a disappointing 163.

Although, individually, the Tigers may not have performed to the best of their ability, they ended on an especially good note considering the competition.

In the spring, the men's golf team will attempt to defend its Ivy League title, with Penn as the strongest league opponent. The title seems easily attainable since the Tigers finished about 25 strokes ahead of the Quakers at George-town.

Although Penn State and East Carolina finished several shots ahead of Princeton, the top eight finishers were very tightly bunched. Behind Princeton in fourth was Connecticut, shooting 608; Eastern Michigan with 609; Georgetown with 610; Navy with 611; and Seton Hall with 612.

Evidently, the first day provided very close numbers among all teams as far as scores were concerned, but the Tigers made up for it by performing better than the other teams on Day Two.