W. golf holes out in 19th at NCAA Central Regionals

This weekend, women's golf traveled to Norman, Ill., to compete at Illinois State in the NCAA Central Regional tournament. Having won the Ivy League title two weeks before, largely because of another standout performance from junior Avery Kiser, Princeton was optimistic heading into this contest, hoping to edge as many teams as possible and make a strong showing in what proved to be its last competition of the year.

Heading into the competition, eyes were on the Tigers' juniors, who have consistently led the team throughout the year. The five players to compete in the tournament for Princeton were juniors Meg Nakamura, Taryn Haladay and Kiser, as well as freshmen Sharla Cloutier and Alexis Etow.

During the first of the three days of tournament play, Kiser led the team with a score of 76, and Nakamura shot an 82 in her first round. Haladay, Etow, and Cloutier shot 89, 82 and 80, respectively, and the Tigers as a whole shot a 320.

During the second day, Nakamura came to life, shooting a 74 and jumping from her previous day's ranking of tied for 84th to 38th, making her the top Tiger with a combined score of 156, which was 14 over par. Kiser shot an 82, positioning her tied for 53rd at 16 shots over par with a combined score of 158.

Haladay was close on Nakamura's heels during the second day, shooting a 77. With this score, she was the second best shooter for Princeton's second round, but due to her rocky performance during the first round, she was still 24 over par and tied for 96th in the tournament at the end of the day.

Etow shot an 84 for her second round, also placing her at 24 on the plus side of par, tied with Haladay for 96th. Cloutier shot an 88 for a two-day combined score of 168 and a tournament ranking of 102nd.

As a team, the Tigers ended their second day of competition shooting a 317. Combined with its previous day's score, Princeton was 69 above par, tied with Kansas State for 18th place in the tournament. The tournament leaders, Vanderbilt and Michigan State, were 32 strokes ahead of the Tigers, and the eighth place and final team to advance to the NCAA championships, Northwestern, was 19 strokes ahead of Princeton at the end of the second round.

During the final day of competition, Nakamura was unable to keep the competitive edge from her previous round, shooting another 82 and finishing up 25 over par with a score of 238, tied for 63rd place overall. Kiser was the top golfer for Princeton during the third round, shooting a 78 and finishing up with a score of 236. This score, 23 over par, was the Tigers' best and earned her the ranking of tied for 54th overall in the tournament.

Etow and Cloutier shot 83 and 81, respectively, both ending with a final score of 249, and ranked tied for 95th in the tournament. Haladay repeated her first round, shooting another 89, and finished out the tournament ranked 106th with a score of 255.

Throughout the tournament, Princeton saw standout performances from several players, but a lack of consistent performance from all players, and an especially lackluster day of final competition, doomed the Tigers to finish up 109 over par with a score of 961. Earning 19th place, Princeton came out on top of only Kent State and Tulsa and failed to secure a berth to the NCAA championships.

Nonetheless, the Tigers saw several exceptional rounds from their players, especially all three upperclassmen on the team, and will look to build off the experience of a fully returning roster as they head into next year's competition with experience oozing from every green.