Men's golf takes first at Ivies, women place second behind Yale

The Princeton men's golf team won the Ivy League Championship this past weekend by a commanding 13 shots over Yale. The win gave the Tigers their third Ivy League title in as many years. Princeton was once again led by senior James Milam who finished in first overall with a three-round total of 218. Milam has been the leader of the team all year and put together three solid rounds of 74-69-75 to win by four shots over freshman teammate Creighton Page, who took second with a score of 222.

As a freshman, Page is simply learning the ropes and it looks like he could be a key player in the years to come. He has played well for much of the spring, and this past weekend he put together his best performance of the year, showing signs of his potential.

"I was confident going into the tournament," said Page, "but I did not expect to finish as well as I did. I think it was a surprise to everyone."

Despite a disappointing final round 78, junior Cassidy Traub managed to finish in sixth overall with a score of 225. Sophomores Greg Johnson and Jon Nuger rounded out Princeton's top five with scores of 231 and 234 respectively.

The Tigers entered the Ivies with a head of steam having finished in the top four in their previous two tournaments. They played better than the other Ivy League teams in those tournaments and felt confident going into the Ivy League Championship that they would come out on top. The win was their first of the year and it gave Princeton an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional.

It will be the Tigers' third straight trip to the NCAA Regionals under head coach Will Green. Green has only been the coach for three years and has led the Tigers to an Ivy League Championship each year.

The Tigers will try to carry this momentum into this weekend's Rutherford Intercollegiate at State College, Pennsylvania. The NCAA Regionals will begin on Thursday, May 16.

The Princeton women finished in second place this past weekend in the Ivy League Championship in Trenton. The Tigers had high hopes of claiming their second straight Ivy League title, but Yale outplayed them and came away with a 17 shot victory.

Freshman Avery Kiser played extremely well once again, winning the individual title with a three-round score of 226. The rest of the Tigers played well, but they were unable to put together their best rounds to produce a win.

Sophomore Esty Dwek finishd in 10th place overall with a score of 251, freshman Meg Nakamura finished in 12th place with a 254, and juniors Megan Milam and Vanessa Redman rounded out Princeton's top five with scores of 256 and 261 respectively.

"We had expected to win because we had beaten [Yale] before," said Redman, "but unfortunately we had an off weekend on one of the most important weekends of the year. It is very disappointing because now our season is pretty much over."

Although the Tigers could not keep up with the extremely talented Bulldogs, they routed the rest of the competition, leaving the nearest competitors far behind. Brown finished 23 shots behind Princeton in third place, and the University of Pennsylvania finished a distant 65 shots behind the Tigers in fourth place. The tournament basically consisted of Princeton and Yale competing for first and the rest of the teams competing for third.

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The Bulldogs were able to overcome the pressure and play well enough to take the Ivy League title away from the Tigers. Although Princeton gave a strong effort, the team's inexperience may have made it difficult for the team to deal with the pressure.

As their underclassmen become more experienced in the years to come, the Tigers will be an intimidating team that will be very difficult to beat. Princeton will attempt to put this tournament behind them and continue their excellent play this weekend when they compete at the Northeast Championships in Amherst, Mass.

This past weekend was an exciting one for Princeton golf. There was much anticipation of a third straight Ivy League title for the men and a second straight title for the women. With the way both teams have been playing so far this year, getting key contributions from underclassmen as well as consistent play from upperclassmen, it was hard to bet against either team. The men were able to accomplish an impressive feat, winning their third straight Ivy League title, while the women fell just short of their second straight title.

The golf season is now winding down as the men's team prepares for the NCAA Regionals after the Rutgers Invitational and the women's team look to end on a strong note competeing at the Northeast Championships and anticipate what next year will bring.