Golf: Shon and Prchal receive national attention

This spring, Shon returns with three college tournament victories under her belt — she is tied for fifth in Princeton history. She leads a Tiger team that Golfweek has ranked at No. 88 in the country, with no Ivy team ranked higher except Harvard at No. 45. Princeton started its season fairly slowly, finishing eighth of 16 at the Yale Intercollegiate tournament and then sixth of 17 at the Nittany Lion Invitational. It was not until Princeton’s last tournament of the early season that Tigers stepped up to sweep the titles at the Lehigh Invitational in late October, earning the team’s 46th tournament title since 1994. Shon tied for first place with senior teammate Anna Jang.

Princeton’s roster has shrunk considerably over the past few years. With the graduation of Wonji Choi ’12, and the departure of sophomore Joyce Kim, who consistently started as a freshman last year, the Tigers must rely on a team of six. Shon was named the best player of the fall in the Ivy League by Golfweek, but she will need freshmen Sydney Kersten and Alexandra Wong to learn the Ivy League ropes quickly.

“We really see ourselves in contention for the Ivy League title,” Wong said, adding that the team plans to hold each other accountable for each others’ goals and improvements.

Harvard stands far ahead in the rankings and is widely considered to be a shoo-in at the Ivy League Championships.

“I think our strongest competition out there is Harvard,” senior Tiffany Dong said. “They, like us, have a small team, but all of their players are very good ... we’re looking forward to stepping up our game and hopefully winning Ivies.”

Princeton has a considerable amount of time to train; next for the Tigers is the Low Country Intercollegiate in late March. The team has been focusing on fitness in the weight room, following a program that specifically targets golfers. Still, the long period spent indoors is definitely a factor when playing teams that come from sunnier and warmer climates.

“I think the main thing is to come in with momentum and to carry that momentum throughout — to play well from the beginning,” Dong said. “[F]or other players who are from the west who are not used to having such a long break, spending time indoors and indoor practice is a little different. So I think the key for us is to stay motivated and to carry that to Ivies.”

The No. 132 men’s team also finished its fall season with a promising start. At the Ivy Tournament, Princeton beat Dartmouth 3-1-1 and Brown 3-0-2, bringing in a long-awaited tournament title.

“We won our last tournament of the fall, so that was exciting,” freshman Quinn Prchal said. “That was our first win for the team and the program in a while. We’re excited and hoping to build on that success in the spring. A lot of our golf is an individual sport, and all of us are working hard to improve, and hopefully we’ll be able to show all of the hard work that we’ve put in over the winter in the upcoming months.”

Prchal joins classmate Matt Gerber to add youth to a team led by juniors Greg Jarmas and Nicholas Ricci. Prchal was also named the best player of the fall in the Ivy League by Golfweek and is sure to add much-needed wins in tougher tournaments.

“From what I’ve seen in the fall, it looks like Yale and Dartmouth should be our two biggest competitors but we’ll play our best and be able to bring home an Ivy League title,” Prchal said.

At No. 102, Yale is the only Ivy League school that GolfWeek ranked higher than Princeton. Yale, however, had a poor showing at the Ivy Tournament, falling to No. 265 Brown. Men’s golf has a long time to go before the spring season, though, and the rankings look like they will be shaken up come April.