Men's, women's golf both repeat as Ivy League champs

For the second year in a row, Princeton proved to be the preeminent golf program in the Ivy League as both the men's and women's squads repeated as Ancient Eight champions. For the men, it was the fifth crown in six years; for the women, it was the third in five years.

April showers...

Before the Tigers could reclaim their crowns, they were forced to play through the brutal weather of New Jersey in March. Early season play proved difficult, as strong wind and rain made it a struggle to make par.

"It was almost comical how windy it was. By the end of the day, three umbrellas had blown into the pond," Sophomore John Sawin said after the Drew Upton Classic in early April.

As the weather calmed, however, the teams rounded into form. The women took second at the Georgetown Invitational the first weekend in April, followed by a victory at the James Madison Invitational the very next weekend. Meanwhile, the men's squad topped all but one of the 16 squads it hosted in the Princeton Invitational in the middle of the month.

...Bring May flowers

At the Ivy League championships, the men's team breezed to victory, shooting a two-under par 862 as a team and beating their closest competitor, Cornell, by 31 strokes. Senior Creighton Page took the individual crown with a six-under 210, the only individual to break par. Junior Jason Gerken, the defending champion, shot even par to tie for second, while sophomore John Sawin shot two-over to tie for fourth. All three players were awarded All-Ivy League honors.

On the women's side, the Tigers won with plus-105 team score of 970 for the three days, topping second-place Yale by 35 strokes. Senior Meg Nakamura took second individually with a 15-over, just one stroke behind champion Cindy Shin of the Elis. Senior Avery Kiser, who had won the tournament for the past three years, closed her career with a fourth place finish. Sophomore Sharla Cloutier showed with a third place finish, just six strokes behind Nakamura.

On to NCAA regionals

After winning the Ivy title, the women's team traveled to the University of Florida for NCAA regionals May 5-7. Heavy rain forced the tournament to fit two rounds into one day, but the Tigers capitalized on their experience playing through foul weather and ended the day in ninth place, just three strokes out of eighth — the top eight teams qualify for NCAA finals. The women's squad knew what was on the line during Saturday's final round, but an unfamiliarly long course finally caught up to the Tigers and they moved down rather than up the leader board, finishing 11th overall.

"The key to next year is going to be consistency," said Kiser. "If the girls are able to play well throughout all rounds of the tournament, they definitely have the talent and capability to make the finals."

The men competed in the NCAA West Regional from May 19-21 in Stanford, Calif., finishing 25th in the 27-team field with a team score of 908. Page, who shot a 13-over par for the weekend, was the Tigers' top individual finisher, taking 77th.