Men have sights on another title

On Sept. 22, the men's golf team kicks off its 2006-2007 season, a campaign in which the players will look to continue their impressive streak of three consecutive Ivy League titles and six in the last seven years.

The Tigers will be led by senior co-captains John Sawin and captain Brent Herlihy, who both have three years of experience in varsity competition.

The team will look to replace three graduates — Jason Gerken, John Locke and Jesse Dixon, but will be aided by the arrival of a phenomenal freshman trio. The first of which — Juan Pablo Candela — hails from Columbia and is the highest junior recruit ever secured by head coach Will Green.

"[Candela] has a beautiful golf swing and a deft touch around the greens," Sawin said. "[Candela] is the best putter I have ever seen," Green added.

If that is true, Juan could be the most valued asset of this strong freshman class, which also boasts two top American junior players, Jake Skinner and Tom Klingman. Skinner is from Boise, Idaho and looks to bring his junior experience to bear against the rest of the Ivy League, while Klingman, from Westchester, N.Y., also compiled an impressive junior record, and with a little more consistency could add much needed depth to the Tiger lineup.

Princeton will face stiff competition within the Ancient Eight from Columbia, whom the Tigers edged out by one stroke last year for the Ivy title.

They will also tee off against many of the nation's top teams as they play one of the toughest schedules in men's golf.

"We are playing the best schedule in my four years, so we will need to be on top of our games to achieve our goals," Sawin said.

The Tigers failed to reach the NCAA finals last year after playing in tough conditions in the NCAA regional, but hopes are high this year for a chance at redemption and another Ivy League title.

On the women's side

The women's golf team is looking forward to a strong season this year with the return of all players from last year's squad. The team will be aided in its quest for an Ivy title by the addition of a solid freshman recruit, Michelle Grilli, a junior standout from Baltimore, Md.

The Tigers look to hit the ground running after excellent individual play over the summer, a summer in which sophomore Susannah Aboff brought home the Women's Trans-National Amateur title, and senior Sharla Cloutier won the Florida State Amateur and the Collegiate Players Tour National Championship.

Senior captain Alexis Etow is excited for the season because of their strong summer performance, and because this year's team seems to have the x-factor that a lot of teams lack, camaraderie.

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"I think perhaps even more remarkable [than the strong summer play] and certainly most importantly is our cohesion and unity as a team. The camaraderie, encouragement and positive support among this group of girls is phenomenal, and will definitely carry over into the team's accomplishments both on and off the course," Etow said.

Last year's team had all the talent they needed to win the Ivy title, but the Princeton women were unable to match the men's success.

This year's team, howver, has added depth, another year of experience, and that elusice x-factor in its favor, so the women are aiming to bring home that elusive title, and contend in the NCAA tournament.

"Overall, we are excited for this year of Princeton golf to feature record-setting performances and at the same time be a momentum-builder for even better seasons to come," senior captain Caitlin Sullivan said. "As a senior, I think the ultimate joy would be to leave Princeton knowing that Women's Golf has its best days in the future."

That future does appear bright for the Tigers under new head coach Amy Bond, who arrived at Princeton after a successful stint as the coach of the Florida State Women's Team.

"[Coach Bond] has already shared some great ideas for practice, competition, and mental game preparation that are sure to produce an outstanding year," Sullivan said.

The level of success for this stacked Tiger squad is still unknown, but the sky is the limit for this group of outstanding women golfers.