Strong results for men’s and women’s golf this past weekend

Men’s Golf

It was a fine, fine weekend for the Princeton men’s golf team as they came out first in a field of 14 teams at the Cornell Invitational in Ithaca, N.Y. The team is continuing what has been a successful year so far after finishing first out of 10 teams at the Navy Fall Invitational on Sept. 13-14.

Leading the Tigers at Cornell was junior Quinn Prchal, who is fresh off of an excellent sophomore season that saw him compete as an individual in the NCAA Championships. Prchal finished 5 under par for the event this weekend, good enough for first place overall.

Following Prchal were sophomore Eric Mitchell and junior Alex Dombrowski, who finished two above par and three above par respectively. Following them were sophomores Michael Davis and Marc Hedrick, who finished 6 above par and 24 above par respectively. Freshman Vinay Ramesh competed as an individual in the event and went 8 above par.

Women’s Golf

After finishing right in the middle of the pack (4thof 7) at the Ivy League Championship this past spring, the Princeton women’s golf team came out strong in its first competition of the year. Traveling to Lewisburg, Pa. for the Bucknell Invitational, the team placed second in a field of 14 teams.

It was a newcomer who led the Tigers on the weekend. Freshman Amber Wang, competing in her first NCAA event, finished 21 above par, earning her joint eighth on the day. Following Wang were sophomore Tenley Shield, junior Hana Ku and senior Sydney Kersten, all of whom finished joint 12that 24 above par. Senior Alex Wong finished at 28 above par.

When asked about her performance, Wang expressed nothing but enthusiasm for getting to join this Tigers squad.

“This was my very first collegiate golf tournament, and being able to compete and be part of such an great team was an amazing experience,” Wang said. “Obviously finishing second was not ideal, but it showed just how strong our team was together, not just skill-wise but [also] mentally. It’ll also be a great motivator for the tournaments to come.”

Wang’s strong opening performance was certainly no fluke. She described how she prepped for NCAA play by competing against top junior players in the country.

“I competed in a lot of tournaments this past summer to prepare for collegiate golf. I was able to compete with some of the best juniors (and now college players) in the world, which I learned a lot from,” Wang said. “It also helped me prepare mentally, because if I was able to play against the best juniors in the world, I should have no problem doing just the same in college. I had a fantastic summer, and it definitely was a confidence booster.”

The women’s golf team will compete at the Princeton Invitational at the Springdale Golf Club, beginning on Oct. 3.