Aboff's 71 catalyzes team win

John Madden is famous for saying, "If you don't win the first one, you can't win them all." The women's golf team adhered to this adage by winning the first tournament of the season, the Princeton Invitational, by 11 strokes over its nearest competitor. Not only did the Tigers capture the team title, but junior Susannah Aboff was the top finisher at 2 over.

The 36-hole event featured 15 teams, including all seven Ivy League programs and was hosted at Springdale Golf Club. Columbia finished a distant second, while Harvard was 18 shots off the Tigers' lead. Princeton has traditionally done well at its home tournament, placing either first or second in the 11 years of the tournament's history.

"You get to know the ins and outs of the course," Aboff said. "We have all birdied every hole on that course. Plus, it's our tournament; we have to win it, of course."

The Tigers finished second to Columbia at last spring's Ivy League Championship, so they were looking forward to starting this season out strong against their Ivy rivals.

Princeton claimed a definitive lead on the first day, boasting a 12-shot margin over Columbia. Aboff's Saturday one-under score of 71 helped Princeton take the lead. No other player scored below 75 strokes the entire weekend.

"I was just playing all together well," Aboff said. "My timing was good, and my putting was working. If you can putt it in, you're good."

On Princeton's five-woman team, freshman Kate Scarpetta made her collegiate debut. She tied for seventh at 8 over par. Junior Marlowe Boukis marked down a pair of 77s to claim sixth place, and senior Annika Welander and sophomore Michelle Grilli tied for ninth and 16th places, respectively. Welander was the tournament champion last year at two strokes over par.

The Tigers continue their season next weekend at the Nittany Lion Invitational at Penn State.

Men step back up

The McLaughlin Invitational held at Bethpage in Long Island, N.Y., was all about how the men's golf team got its groove back. Placing seventh, Princeton outplayed some of its top Ivy rivals and greatly improved upon its tournament performance the previous weekend.

"It was a very positive weekend for us and a step in the right direction following last weekend's tournament," junior co-captain Max Schechter said. "We played smart golf and kept ourselves out of trouble."

West Florida was the top finisher at 10-under for the weekend. Columbia was the highest placing Ivy, tying Jacksonville State for fifth place. Princeton tied Penn, the defending Ivy League champions, for seventh place at 25-over. Harvard finished last in 18th place.

"As a team, we definitely felt excited to play with Penn and Columbia on the final day," junior co-captain Drew Maliniak said. "Whenever we play with other Ivies, we lay the hammer down."

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

After a week of classes and practice, the team settled into the rhythm of the fall season. Contributing to the Tigers' success was their familiarity with the golf course at this tournament. They were able to post competitive scores against teams they will see again during the spring season.

"We were a lot more comfortable this week," sophomore Jake Skinner said. "We are used to competing against these teams and have played the course at Bethpage a few times before. Playing at this course was easier than last week; we were striking the ball really well."

Maliniak, who was a late qualifier for the Tigers, posted the best score for Princeton. He placed 12th at two-over with scores of 70, 70 and 72.

"Personally," Maliniak said, "one shot that got me rolling was a buried bunker shot from under the lip that I stuck to three feet. After I hit that shot, my game seemed to just click into a steady, confident rhythm, which I was able to parlay into three solid rounds."

"Drew played out of his mind this weekend," Skinner said. "It was probably his best tournament at Princeton."

Sophomores and juniors completed the Princeton squad. Sophomore Juan Pablo Candela, Schechter and Skinner tied for 37th at eight-over. Sophomore Greg Stamas, who tied for 61st, was the fifth Tiger at 14-over.

The Tigers continue their fall season in two weeks at the Yale Fall Invitational.