The Ivy League women’s golf championship is only six years old and it already has its first dynasty.
The Eli golf team won its fourth Ivy title this weekend at Trenton Country Club in West Trenton, N.J. The Bulldogs posted a three-round total of 963 — 17 shots better than their nearest competitor, second-place finisher Princeton.
Captain Sarah Seo ’02, who tied for second with teammate Stephanie Wei ’05, earned All-Ivy honors for the fourth straight year, the first female Ivy golfer ever to achieve such a feat. Wei and Jennifer Schriefer ’02, who finished fifth, were also named to the All-Ivy team. Anna Jepson ’05 was the fourth Eli in the top 10, finishing ninth.
“It was great that our two seniors got to win,” said Jordanna Davis ’03, who finished 15th in the 30 person field. “They are the real glue of this team.”
For the seniors, it was their second Ivy League championship in four years. The team last won in 2000, when Seo captured the individual championship as well.
This year, Seo’s scores of 81-77-78 put her 10 shots behind the medalist, Princeton freshman Avery Kiser, but it was enough to lead Yale to the team championship.
In the first three-round Ivy championship in the tournament’s short history, a pair of 78s by Wei and Schriefer in the opening 18 paced the Elis to a total of 317 — the best round posted by any team in the tournament. In the second round, Seo’s 77 and a 79 from Wei helped Yale build a 14-stroke lead by the end of Saturday’s 36 holes.
“At that point, we weren’t able to be caught. We had the momentum,” said Davis, who was surprised the Bulldogs did not have more competition from the rest of the field. “I thought Brown would be more competition than they were. I thought Princeton would have put up much more of a fight.”
The Trenton Country Club course caused problems for the field with its tough pin placements and fast greens. On the strength of its depth, Yale was able to persevere the conditions and emerge victorious, whereas others, like second place Princeton and third place Brown failed to mount a serious charge.
“It was a really tough course, but that is an advantage for us because I think all of our players are pretty good,” Jepson said. “Some of the other teams have one, or two, or maybe three good players, but not five good players like we have.”
With the victory, the Eli quintent extends it season by earning a berth in the NCAA Regionals in two weeks. Until then, the Elis have some time to relish in their league crown.
“This was our goal of the season,” Jepson said. “We wanted to win this.”