Ivy performance disappointing for men's team

The Galloway National Golf Club proved difficult for the men's golf team this weekend, as it tied for sixth out of eight teams at the Ivy Championships. The Ivy title was captured by Penn, which was 10 strokes ahead of second-place finisher Brown. This is Princeton's worst finish in eight years.

The men had hoped to win their fourth consecutive Ivy title, but this year they faced tough competition from strong Columbia and Penn squads.

Senior co-captain John Sawin, who is a staff writer for The Daily Princetonian, was the Tigers' highest finisher and placed fifth. Sawin had high hopes for this weekend, coming off his first collegiate victory a weekend ago at the Princeton Invitational.

Though he could not find the form that got him last weekend's title, his finish was good enough to earn him his third career All-Ivy honors.

"It was a disappointing weekend for all," Sawin said. "I managed my game well, however, I did not put up the numbers needed for victory."

The second-highest finisher for Princeton was sophomore Drew Maliniak at 22nd place. Senior Brent Herlihy followed close behind at 23rd place, posting scores of 81, 78, 78.

Sophomore Max Schecter tied for 29th place, while freshman Juan Candela placed 35th. Candela's scores did not count, as only the top-four finishers count towards the team total.

The weekend was particularly disappointing for the talented Candela, for whom the team had high expectations this season.

"This was a tough weekend for all," Sawin said, "but hopefully these young guys can learn from it and excel in future years."

Galloway is a beautiful seaside course near Atlantic City, N.J. The course is designed with penal fairway bunkers and fast, undulating greens that test the players' touch.

The Quakers were led by Chance Pepitone, who tied for second despite incurring a two-shot penalty for missing his second-round tee time. The individual title was captured by Columbia junior Chris Condello, who was seven over par on the weekend.

Women finish second to Columbia

The Princeton women were also unsuccessful in their pursuit of the Ivy title this past weekend at the Trenton Country Club. Columbia won the Ivy League title with a 10-shot lead over the Tigers, who finished second.

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Princeton improved on its third-place finish from last year, but it was still a disappointing result in light of the Tigers' earlier successes this season. Princeton won three team titles and three individual titles.

Three Tigers qualified for All-Ivy honors, however. Senior Sharla Cloutier claimed her third recognition, sophomore Susannah Aboff earned her second and junior Annika Welander qualified for her first.

While Princeton was unable to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the Ivy Championship, there is still the possibility of receiving an at-large bid from the tournament committee due to its strong play this season.

"It was obviously disappointing not to take home the title this year," Aboff said, "but we are hopeful that our young squad will learn from these mistakes and build on this result in tournaments to come."

This completes the first full Ivy League season for head coach Amy Bond, previously a player and assistant coach at Florida University. Despite this setback, the season has been full of successes and Princeton will hope for an at-large bid and continued success on the national stage.