For Princeton's golf teams, good things came in pairs this past weekend. Both the men's and women's teams dominated the Ivy League Championships, placing first in their respective divisions. The men broke numerous records en route to their victory and their best-ever showing in the championship tournament. To top it off, senior Creighton Page claimed the Ivy League individual title and was the only player to shoot a combined score under par.
The women's team also had a remarkable tournament, beating its rival, Yale, by a landslide and claiming its second Ivy League Championship in a row and third in the past five years. Senior Meg Nakamura captured the No. two spot just one stroke behind Yale's Cindy Shin.
The men's team played three rounds at Ballyowen Golf Club in Hamburg, N.J. — two on Saturday and one on Sunday. After Saturday's rounds, the five-man team was in first place with sophomore John Sawin and senior Creighton Page holding the No. 1 and 2 spots, respectively. Sawin led after the first day of tournament play, shooting an impressive 73 and 68.
"We were very confident, and that's what gave us the extra edge," Sawin said. "Normally when we play a tournament, we're in a field where teams are better on paper, but in the Ivy League, we have the best stats."
Even though the tournament score was in their favor, the Tigers did not want to be too self-assured. At the midway point, Princeton was ahead of the second-place squad, Penn, by 14 strokes.
"Fourteen shots is not a comfortable lead; it definitely isn't insurmountable," Sawin said. "Going into Sunday, our coach told us to be as calm as possible and not to give them any hope."
That's just what they did.
The Tigers ran away from the field, shooting hole after hole of birdies to finish with a score of 279 — a stunning 31 strokes ahead of Cornell.
"We took it as low as we could with the last round and doubled the lead," Page said. "We were most proud of being able to win by such a wide margin. We showed the rest of the league that when it comes to this weekend, it pretty much is going to be a competition for second."
Princeton's scores for Sunday's round were 68-67-71-73 (only the top four scores count for the team). The Tigers broke the record for the lowest team score ever tallied in the Ivy League Championships, shooting two under par. Princeton also broke the record for the lowest final round score in the Ivy League Championship — nine under par. The Tigers added to their impressive history of strong performances, winning five titles in the past six years and 16 out of the past 30 years.
Not only did the team pull out the win, but Page captured his first individual title in his final opportunity to do so, shooting a combined score of 210 (71, 71, 68). He was a solid six strokes ahead of the second-place finishers, Penn's Sean Barrett and junior teammate Jason Gerken. Gerken won the title last year.
"I was disappointed that I had never won a title in college after being successful in juniors, so it definitely feels good to finally win one," Page said. "I hit the ball really well, and I was playing close to my best all weekend."
Women match men
The Princeton women also finished on top of the Ivies for their second consecutive team win. Since 1997, the first year of the Ivy League Championship for women, Yale and the Tigers have battled it out for the No. 1 and 2 spots. The Bulldogs have won five team titles, and Princeton has won six individual titles.
Like the men, the women's team also led after the first and second rounds on Saturday. The Tigers had a 25-stroke lead over Yale, which gave them some room for comfort going into Sunday's final round. They didn't need it, however, as they shot their best on Sunday with a score of 318, compared to a 328 and a 324 on Saturday.
Senior Meg Nakamura was the lowest-scoring Princeton player, placing second in the tournament with a score of 231 (79-77-75). Senior Avery Kiser, who won the Ivy title for the past three years, hoped to break her own record by winning it for four years. She came up just short, however, as she placed fourth in the tournament with a score of 245 (81-83-81).
The Tigers had four team members in the top 10 with sophomore Sharla Cloutier in third place and senior Taryn Haladay in eighth. Freshman Annika Welander made her debut in this tournament, and she placed 23rd with a score of 271.
For men's and women's golf, this weekend merely reinforced both teams' position as the best in the Ivy League.
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