Crimson nabs Princeton Invitational

On the women’s side, the Tigers have had a stranglehold on the top spot at the two-round tournament. Princeton had a five-year winning streak at Springdale Golf Club, where the Tigers’ familiarity with the terrain has historically given them an edge over other teams. Their average margin of victory during that streak was nearly 18 strokes.

Indeed, the same old story unfolded through the first day of play. Princeton was the only team that shot under 300, with senior co-captain Susannah Aboff’s even par leading the way.

Fellow senior co-captain Marlowe Boukis also came out firing on all cylinders with a two-over-par performance. Boukis was followed by junior Michelle Grilli and sophomore Maggie Boberg at plus four, while sophomore Kate Scarpetta rounded out the quintet at eight over par.

Aboff didn’t card the best individual score of the day, however. That honor went to St. John’s junior Renee Cloutier, who finished tied for the individual title. Her name might ring a bell: Her sister Sharla Cloutier ’07 was a star golfer at Princeton. Coincidentally, Sharla also won the Princeton Invitational in her junior season with the Tigers, hitting a memorable hole-in-one on Springdale’s 13th hole.

Princeton returned to action on the second day with a four-stroke lead over Harvard. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Crimson posted a steady 311, while Princeton stumbled to a cumulative 317. Of the Tiger golfers, only Scarpetta improved on her first-day score, carding a plus seven to finish at plus 15.

Aboff finished third overall at six over. and Grilli and Boberg tied for 15th at 12 over, while Boukis finished 17th at 13 over par.

On the men’s side, Princeton traveled up to Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., for the McLaughlin Invitational hosted by St. John’s. Southeastern Louisiana came out on top, carding a combined plus 14 over the three days of competition.

The Tigers’ combined plus 34 was good for 11th. Junior Juan Pablo Candela finished in the top 20 with an impressive plus six over three rounds. The other four Princeton golfers — sophomore Eric Salazar, freshman Patrick Wasserman and seniors Max Schechter and Drew Maliniak — were closely bunched, shooting at 10, 11, 13 and 14 over par, respectively. Maliniak is also a staff writer for The Daily Princetonian.

The men’s and women’s teams will both hit the road next weekend. The men travel to Ithaca, N.Y., for the Cornell Invitational, while the women trek out to Columbia, Mo., for the Johnie Imes Invitational.