Depth drives women's golf to third-place finish in Pa.

Women's golf takes the phrase "from dawn 'til dusk" to the extreme. While students on campus were sound asleep on Saturday morning, the Tigers were at a golf course in University Park, Pa. before dawn, preparing for a weekend that would culminate in a third-place finish at the Nittany Lion Women's Fall Invitational.

In the three-round tournament, Princeton shot 302-304-309, for a total of 915. UC Irvine won the tournament with a score of 897, and second-place College of Charleston shot 902. The Tigers far outdistanced sixth-place Yale, Princeton's stiffest Ancient Eight competition.

Senior Avery Kiser led the team for the second straight weekend with a ninth-place individual finish. Last weekend Kiser won the Princeton Invitational and led the Tigers to a win on their home course. Kiser, the defending Ivy League champion, scored 227 this weekend, only seven shots off the pace set by the tournament champion, Selanee Henderson of UC Irvine.

All five of Princeton's golfers finished in the top 28 of the 15-team tournament. This added up to the team's best ever showing at the Penn State course.

Following Kiser, freshman Annika Welander was a steady contributor. Her scores of 76-78-77 counted in each round, and she was rewarded with a 12th-place individual finish. Each team's top five players' scores count on each day.

"It was a tremendous effort by everyone, especially to come from behind to beat Penn State on their home course; especially when they shot a school record," head coach Eric Stein said.

Depth was very important for the Tigers, who had a different low scorer in each round. They began with a stellar first round score of 302. Senior Meg Nakamura, who finished 19th overall individually, led the Tigers with a 74. She was followed closely by Kiser (75) and Welander (76).

"We came out strong," Stein said. "In the first round we had to throw out a 79. Years ago we wished we could have had at least one 79." Stein has been the program's coach since it was granted varsity status in 1991.

Play was halted for an hour Saturday afternoon when the players were called off the course due to lightning. As a result, the second round had to be suspended later that day due to darkness. The three remaining holes of round two were played Sunday morning.

The unusual start forced Princeton to face two of the course's toughest holes bright and early Sunday morning. However, the team still posted an excellent score of 304 in the second round, anchored by Kiser and sophomore Alexis Etow, who both shot 74.

In the final round the team was led by sophomore Sharla Cloutier, who shot 76 in her best round of the tournament, clinching a 24th-place individual finish.

Stein reflected on the long but exciting weekend, praising his team's endurance.

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"How many sports do you know where the team arrives when it's dark and leaves when it's dark? We were out there competing for 12 hours," he said. "That is what's unique about our sport."

The team will look to continue its strong play as it travels to Miami next weekend to compete in the Pat Bradley Women's Golf Championship. The Tigers will again face a strong field with teams from all over the nation. The daylight is slightly shorter in Florida this time of year, so there's a chance they might be unable to finish before dark again.