Though continuing its domination over Ivy League opponents motivates men's golf, the Tigers have the additional impetus of striving to gain a national ranking. Princeton will be jockeying for position throughout this fall season as it looks to qualify for NCAA Regionals come spring.
Princeton's first test of the season took place Monday and Tuesday at the Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club in Southern Pines, NC. Though the Tigers were up against one of the toughest fields they will face all season, they expressed disappointment with their 15th-place finish.
"We struggled a little as a team. We played decently in the first round, then let it slip away," junior John Sawin said.
Sawin shot Princeton's best round on Tuesday with a 73. He tied for 58th overall (72-76-73-221).
The Tigers had been in 10th place at the conclusion of Monday's rounds, but they faced difficulties in the tournament's final round and slipped five spots in the standings.
"Our finish was slightly disappointing. We were up against a pretty good field. It would have been really nice to get a fifthor sixth-place finish, but this week we just didn't quite have it," junior Brent Herlihy said.
Herlihy tied for 94th-place with a score of 235. He shot rounds of 82, 74 and 79.
Senior captain Jason Gerken had the best overall score for Princeton. His final tally of 219 (71-72-76) placed him in a tie for 40th. Classmates Jesse Dixon and John Locke finished in 67th and 86th, respectively, with scores of 223 and 230.
Despite the outcome of this week's tournament, the Tigers are confident that they will emerge as one of the top teams in the region and will be competitive in the NCAA Regional Tournament come spring.
"Our team is very consistent, and I think our freshmen will live up to how they've been billed," Gerken said.
For Princeton, most of the fall season is just a warm-up for the two final events that they play. The Big Five Classic on Oct. 15 and 16 and the Hoya Invitational on Oct. 22 and 23 are the two, big district events that will determine their seed for the spring. The longsighted team goal is to have a strong finish at these two concluding events.
"We're continuing our move from last year," Herlihy said. "We showed that we have a great team within the Ivy League when we won by a large margin in the spring. Our sights are beyond that right now. We're trying to make a move into the national scene."
For now, however, the Tigers need to focus on the present. Their chance to rebound from this most recent tournament will come in two weeks at the Sea Trail Intercollegiate on Sept. 24-25.
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