The women's golf team, Princeton's only undefeated team remaining this fall, garnered its third consecutive win this weekend at the Yale Invitational. Led by junior Meg Nakamura's second-place finish and solid play across the board, the Tigers rallied past Rollins College in the final round and placed first, five strokes ahead of second-place Yale.
The Tigers sat three strokes behind Rollins, last year's Division II champion, after Saturday's first round. Atop the leader board, Nakamura was tied for first with competitors from St. John's and Bucknell, while junior Taryn Haladay was tied for ninth after posting an opening-round 77. Haladay has emerged this year as a significant member of the Princeton team. She finished the invitational tied for seventh.
Nakamura fell two shots behind Yale's Cindy Shin after Sunday's round, ending the tournament in second place. The rest of the team stepped up as well, with each player posting a top-10 finish.
"I think we got lucky and have finally found a year where we are all able to play consistently," junior captain Avery Kiser said.
Kiser, who has traditionally led the Tigers in scoring, struggled with her short game and putting at the Yale Invitational. Finishing the first round with a 79, she ended the tournament at 16 over par, tied for 10th.
"I was surprised with my play," Kiser said. "But what is key is knowing that I can still pull together a decent round that will help the team in the long run."
Kiser and freshman Sharla Cloutier have come together to provide the backbone of a team that seems to rely on no single individual for low scores, as evidenced by this week's outstanding performance. Cloutier, who rebounded from a 79 on Saturday to post a 73 in the last round of the tournament, climbed from 13th-place, where she stood after Saturday, to a tie for fourth. With three top-five showings in her first three tournaments, Cloutier has emerged as one of the Ivy League's most dominant players.
"Sharla [Cloutier] makes things a whole lot easier," Kiser said of her young teammate. "She provides that final score that we have been looking for the last two years."
This weekend marks the Tigers' 44th win, having defeated 17 other teams at Dartmouth, 15 at Princeton, and 12 at Yale. The Tigers took down all Ivy League opponents this weekend at Yale and stand as a significant program even outside the league.
The men spent this weekend in Moosic, Pa., competing at the Temple Owl Invitational. Having to contend with 40-degree temperatures, soaking rain and the elite teams of the region, the Tigers completed a third-place finish and returned to Princeton with their best showing of the season. Princeton finished behind Penn State and Rutgers.
Junior Jason Gerken once again led the way for the Tigers, finishing second at 71-73 for a total of 144, one shot behind the winner. Junior Creighton Page finished fourth with rounds of 74 and 73. There wasn't much support behind them, however. Despite the success of Gerken and Page, the Tigers failed to place any other golfer in the top 20.
"If we're going to contend at tournaments, we will have to be more consistent from top to bottom," head coach Will Green said.
The golf course, Glenmaura National Golf Club, was a demanding track that punished errant shots, particularly off the tee. Gerken struggled with the course and the weather, and double bogeys weren't uncommon.
The Tigers have next weekend off but return to the links the weekend of Oct. 18-19 at the Big 5 Classic at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
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