Gerken, Kiser lead Tigers

As the men's and women's golf season kicks into full swing, both teams will look for their experienced seniors to lead them in the hunt for another Ivy League title, which results in a bid to the end-of-the year NCAA tournament.

Following an offseason of hitting indoors, the team will have little time to perfect their strokes in preparation for Ivy League competition. Both the men and women are set to play in only two tournaments before going up against the other Ivies. However, a strong record of success, as well as a high level of consistency, will undoubtedly aid the teams in their effort.

On the men's side, junior Jason Gerken sits at the top of the roster. He captured the Big Five Classic title and posted two other top finishes after competing in five fall tournaments. Known for his all-around game and sharp decision making skills on the course, Gerken is hoping to recieve a second individual Ivy title and contribute to another team championship.

"Everyone focuses on playing around the greens. Jason is a fabulous wedge player," senior Creighton Page said of his teammate.

Page joins Gerken as one of the top players. Over his four years at Princeton, he has continued to achieve impressive results. After recording the team's second-lowest scoring average during his junior year, he picked up right where he left off this past fall, boasting a stroke average of 73.36 in tournament competition. His sixth-place finish helped the Tigers win the Big Five Classic, and he posted the lowest score for Princeton at the Georgetown Invitational.

"The Drew Upton Invitational is the next tournament for us," Page said. "All the teams from the district will be there. If we beat them, we'll almost definitely get into the top four and get into NCAA."

Common goals

A desire to not only win the Ivies but also gain entry into the NCAA regionals seems to be one that is shared between the two teams.

The women's chances of going far are just as good as the men's. Senior standout Kiser holds the talent to carry her team to a second consecutive league title. After placing 54th at the NCAA Regional last spring, the three-time individual champion can rely on her consistently strong level of play to guide her and the rest of the Tigers to victory.

Kiser got off to a good start in the fall, beginning competition by maintaining her position as the team's top scorer. She captured the Princeton Invitational by a three-shot margin and finished four other fall tournaments in the top three.

Kiser's dominating presence throughout her Princeton career can also be attributed to her leadership skills, which really shine in her interaction with the younger players on the team.

"We have a couple freshmen and even sophomores," Kiser said. "I can't help, whenever I see them get a little upset, seeing a little of myself freshman year. I say to them, 'Hey, I've been doing this for a few more years and to stick it out.' One of the reasons I've been so successful has been to control my emotions."

Sophomore Sharla Cloutier will also aid in Princeton's quest for another league win. Gaining All-Ivy honors after a fifth-place finish at the Ivy League Championships last year, Cloutier had an impressive fall as well, shooting no round above 80, which helped her capture the Austin Peary Invitational title.

Fine-tuning

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Bad weather has put both the men's and women's golf teams at a disadvantage. While they have been unable to practice much outdoors, many of their competitors have been hitting outdoors for weeks.

"You spend the first month or two months before the season improving your swing so that during the season you just have to fine-tune," Kiser said. "But with the weather we're trying to do both of those at once. We have a challenge that other teams don't in that we don't have a month or two to get comfortable."

Though rain forecasted for the next few days may keep the Tigers indoors, they are eager to hit the course and practice outdoors.

"Our focus for last week was just getting comfortable again," Kiser said. "It's a hard transition to go from hitting balls inside."

The team has already shown promise this year, placing sixth in the Anteater Invitational over spring break. Kiser, Clautier, freshman Annika Welander and senior Taryn Halady were the top finishers for Princeton. Kiser led the way in a 19th-place individual finish.