Gerken's smooth swing paces m. golf to Big 5 win

The men's golf team is finally having the season they had expected to have before the year began. After a disappointing showing early in the fall, the team finally had the spotlight all to themselves as they captured the Big 5 Classic this weekend. The Tigers' talent finally shone through at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.

"The first two tournaments this fall we struggled and were disappointed, but at the James Madison Invitational we finished pretty well, and that carried us into this weekend," junior Jason Gerken said.

Gerken led the Tigers by capturing the individual title. The defending Ivy League champion was the only golfer to shoot par for the course.

The Ohio native has led the Tigers in every tournament so far this fall except for one, but he had yet to win an individual title this fall. At the Big 5 Classic he shot a steady 71 in both rounds to defeat the rest of the field by four strokes.

In the first tournament of the fall, the Navy Fall Invitational, the Tigers had the lead after the first round but faded to sixth on the final day. This past weekend when they were faced with the same situation, they made sure it didn't happen again and their efforts paid off.

"After a good showing at James Madison, we thought we had a chance to win," Gerken said. "Going into the second day we had the lead, so we wanted to hold it."

Princeton dominated the 13-team field, placing four golfers in the top 10 and beating second-place William & Mary by 10 strokes over the 36-hole tournament. After a first-round score of 296, the Tigers stepped it up and shot 293 to close out the tournament on Sunday.

Penn St., Georgetown and St. Joseph's rounded out the top five. The Hoyas were second after the first day of competition, after an opening round of 297. However, they were unable to sustain the momentum, shooting a 315 on day two.

Penn was Princeton's closest Ivy League opponent. The Quakers finished in a tie for sixth place, 28 strokes behind the Tigers. Columbia finished near the rear in ninth.

Sophomore Brent Herlihy was the second Tiger finisher, as he shot five over par, good for third place. Senior Creighton Page and sophomore John Sawin tied for sixth place. Both players led the Tigers with fifth place showings at last weekend's James Madison Invitational.

"Brent's improvement is probably the reason we've done so well the past two weekends. He's really stepped it up from earlier in the fall," Gerken said.

The Tigers' play has been steadily improving, and in their final tournament of the fall season, the Georgetown Invitational next weekend, Princeton will attempt to continue that trend.

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"We have confidence heading into the Georgetown Invitational because it's a lot of the same opponents we faced in Philadelphia," Gerken said.

The Tigers will look to continue to beat opponents from their district to improve their ranking. Although the fall season is viewed primarily as preparation for the spring, it can still help teams earn NCAA berths.

In the spring Princeton will look to defend its Ivy League title. After conquering Columbia and Penn this past weekend, hopes are high for a successful spring.