Women's Golf: Golfers capture second place

Princeton’s golfers seem to be shaking the rust off quickly, however, as they finished second overall at the Hoya Invitational.

Senior captains Susannah Aboff and Marlowe Boukis, who have been the team’s anchors for the past three-and-a-half years, led the Tigers to a victory in the ECAC Championships last October, the team’s high-water mark for its fall season.

Aboff, as the only player to card a score under par, claimed the individual competition, while Boukis finished fifth at 5-over par. As a team, Princeton finished 23-over par, 16 strokes better than its nearest opponent, St. John’s.

Dartmouth and Penn, two of the Tigers’ main Ivy rivals, finished that tournament in ninth and 10th place, respectively, far behind Princeton.

Spring’s arrival, however, brings with it a fresh slate of tournaments.

The Hoya Invitational, hosted by Georgetown at the Members Club at Four Streams in Beallsville, Md., is traditionally one of the Tigers’ most important tournaments of the spring, and it is also usually one of Princeton’s most successful events. The Tigers captured the team title in both 2006 and 2007, both times led by Aboff’s first-place individual finishes.

Princeton’s golfers certainly looked poised for another strong showing after their dual meet against San Jose State. Despite losing by 14 strokes, the Tigers’ key players all appeared in midseason form. Aboff and Boukis carded rounds of 74 and 75, respectively, and freshman Wonji Choi shot a stellar 75.

Unfortunately for Princeton, an outstanding performance from No. 1 Nova Southeastern put the title out of reach after the first day.

After two rounds of competition, the Tigers had played well enough to hold on to second place.

The Sharks, however, proved why they are widely considered the top Division II golf program in the nation by building a dominant 21-shot lead through two rounds.

Difficult weather conditions and rust from the long winter wreaked havoc with most of the golfers in the first day of play on Monday.

“The first round was extremely windy and cold and a bit miserable,” sophomore Kate Scarpetta said.

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Scarpetta adjusted relatively well to the adverse conditions, carding a first-round 76 and second-round 77 on the par-72 course.

Boukis and Aboff were the only other Princeton golfers to card rounds under 80 on Monday, as they posted second-round scores of 76.

Tuesday morning’s round kicked off bright and early at 8 a.m. Fortunately for all involved, the weather cleared up considerably.

Scarpetta carded a respectable 78 in her final round, good for fourth place overall in the individual competition. Aboff, meanwhile, made a late surge, with a 4-over-par round on Tuesday.

Her overall score of 17-over placed her eighth overall. Boukis finished one place behind her fellow captain with a score of 18-over, while Choi and junior Michelle Grilli posted scores of 30-over.

In the end, Nova Southeastern left Maryland with the team title, winning by 25 strokes over Princeton. The Tigers carded a cumulative 77-over par.

All other schools finished more than 30 strokes behind the Sharks, including the College of William and Mary at +86 and Rollins College at +88.

The Hoya Invitational was a good chance for the Tigers to get a feel for their progress.

“A lot of us are saying that we’re putting well but not hitting it right,” Scarpetta said.

Putting everything together will be the key to Princeton’s improvement in the coming weeks.

The team travels to Miami Lakes, Fla., next weekend for the Canes/Cardinal Classic, and its season finishes with the Ivy League Championship in Abescon, N.J., at the end of the month.