Six-iron in hand, junior Sharla Cloutier stood at the 13th hole Saturday, ready to drive her ball toward the uphill green 156 yards away. A few feet away stood her father, who had flown in from Florida for the weekend to watch her play.
Cloutier swung, and, together, father and daughter watched as the ball soared through the air and came to rest in the bottom of the hole.
By the time the day was over, not only would the elder Cloutier see his daughter become the first woman to sink a hole-in-one in the Princeton Invitational, but he also would also watch her shoot the lowest round in the tournament's history.
Led by Cloutier's first-place overall finish, the women's golf team finished atop the standings at the 17-school tournament. Princeton's two-round score of 605 was 20 strokes ahead of second-place Yale.
Three of the five Tigers competing placed in the overall top five in the individual standings. Cloutier turned in a one over par 145 (76-69), followed by Marlow Boukis (76-69, 145), who finished tied for second with Yale's January Romero.
Freshman Susannah Aboff took fourth, one stroke behind Boukis (75-75, 150). Rounding out the Princeton lineup were sophomore Annika Windon, who finished in a tie for 25th place (76-85, 161), and junior Alexis Etow, who tied for 54th place (84-87, 171).
The big story of the weekend was the performance of first-place Cloutier. Sunday's 69 set a female course record and also tied the best score by a female Princetonian in competitive play on any course.
"I had a lot of birdies, and having a hole-in-one certainly helps your score," Cloutier said. "Positive thinking really made all the difference for me."
Going into Sunday's round, Cloutier had one goal — she wanted to make sure that she had a smile on her face no matter what her outcome was on the day. She looks to set an example of the power of self-confidence and optimism for her team.
"We're all really good golfers, but positive attitude makes all the difference, so as a team we're really working on maintaining a positive attitude regardless of results," Cloutier said.
Looking toward the future, the Tigers now have their sights set on winning the Penn State Invitational on Oct. 15 and 16. Cloutier said the team expects the competition to be intense but feels assured in its ability to emerge victorious.
Men's action
In Sunset Beach, N.C., men's golf competed in the Sea Trail Intercollegiate Tournament over the weekend. Princeton had an eighth-place finish out of 21 competitors, shooting a three-round 881 (287-297-297). It finished 30 strokes behind first-place Elon, who also happened to be hosting the tournament. Rounding out the top five were Western Carolina, Pfeiffer, Wofford and Radford.
Senior captain Jason Gerken was the best finisher for the Tigers, coming in fifth overall individually with a three-round 212 (69-72-71). Junior John Sawin finished 20th overall with a combined 218 (70-75-73). Senior John Locke notched a final score of 223 (72-76-75) to rank as the third-best Princeton finisher and to tie for 43rd overall. Senior Jesse Dixon finished with a 230 (76-76-78), while junior Brent Herlihy shot a three-round 235 (79-74-82).
The Tigers will spend this week gearing up for the Earl Yestingmeier Classic at Ball State, a tournament that will take place next Monday and Tuesday.
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