After finishing 19th out of 21 teams at last year's NCAA Central Regionals, the women's golf team hopes that a change of region will bring it better results this year. Princeton qualified for the East Regionals — held in Gainesville, Fla., from May 5-7 — by finishing first in the Ivy League Championships, which took place on April 16-17.
The Tigers are looking to build on an already successful season at Regionals. They have finished in the top half of all of their competitions this season. Even more impressively, Princeton has finished first in eight of its tournaments, led by the senior trio of Meg Nakamura, Avery Kiser and Taryn Haladay. Nakamura had the top Princeton finish at the Ivy League Championships, taking home second place. Kiser, who finished fourth at the Ivies, has been the individual Ivy League champion the past three years. A consistent top finisher for the Tigers, she should also be a force at Regionals. Haladay finished a solid eighth at Ivies.
Young guns too
Two other golfers who have stood out this season are sophomore Sharla Cloutier and freshman Annika Welander. Cloutier, who had an impressive third-place finish at this year's Ivies, hopes to improve on the 95th-place finish she notched in last year's NCAA Regionals. Welander tied for 23rd at the Ivies and has continually provided key points for the Tigers this season.
Princeton is looking for consistency as it heads down to Florida.
"At regionals, the most important thing is for us to play our own game," Cloutier said. "We need to focus on playing our best and not worry too much about the factors we can't affect."
There will be a total of 324 golfers participating at this year's Regionals. Of those, 126 individuals will advance to the finals at Sunriver, Ore., from May 17-20. Princeton hopes to be one of the eight teams that will advance from its region. The Tigers' cohesion should help their chances as the team tries to advance.
"There is a real sense of unity on the team," Cloutier said. "It's about going low for these girls who are your closest friends and supporters."
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