In golf tournaments, consistency is often the key to success. The women’s golf team learned this rule firsthand last weekend.

Despite being in second place after the first round, the Bulldogs finished with a two-day total of 662 and tied host Bucknell University for fifth place in the ECAC Women’s Open Golf Championship.

James Madison University won the tournament, with a mark of 619. The Bulldogs bested fellow Ivies Dartmouth (9th), Harvard (t-10th) and the University of Pennsylvania (14th), but finished behind Princeton and Brown, who finished second and third, respectively. Team captain Sarah Seo ’02 led Yale with a two-round score of 156. The Elis also received a strong performance from Jennifer Schriefer ’02, whose score of 161 tied her for 11th with James Madison’s Carol Green.

“We did not play as well as we would have liked to,” Seo said. “It was disappointing to drop from second place after the first round.”

The Bulldogs’ efforts were hindered when Anna Jepson ’05 sprained her ankle on the morning of the first round. Despite the injury, Jepson shot an 80 in the first round. But unfortunately for the Elis, the ankle forced her to withdraw before round two. Jepson’s injury meant that all the scores of the four other Bulldogs would count, leaving little room for error.

“That puts a little bit more pressure on you,” Schriefer said. “Normally, since we have good players throughout this team, if things go wrong, you know that someone else will be able to pick up the slack.”

Seo concurred, but was still pleased with the team’s effort.

“I think we did the best we could do under the circumstances, and that’s all we can ask for,” Seo said.

Overall, Schriefer is pleased with the efforts the Bulldogs have shown this autumn, which include victories at both the Yale and Princeton Invitationals.

“We’ve had a successful season,” Schriefer said. “Our success shows that we have great depth with our freshmen, which gives promise for the future.”

The Bulldogs conclude their fall campaign Nov. 4-6 at the Pine Needles Women’s Collegiate Invitational in North Carolina. Both Seo and Schriefer said the team is looking forward to the event, which will feature competition from Big Ten schools and a tough course to play on.

“It will be a really fun tournament for us,” Seo said. “At first the competition level seems intimidating, but it’s a great, challenging course to play on. When you think something will be difficult, you rise to the occasion, and I think we will.”