It was a busy week for the Yale golf teams, which competed in their first multi-day tournaments of the season.
The defending Ivy League champion men’s team competed at the Adams Cup on Monday and Tuesday in Newport, R.I. A strong second day placed the team in third place. While back at home, the women’s team hoped to defend its title at the Yale Women’s Intercollegiate tournament last Saturday and Sunday. Battling against 15 other teams, the team finished in fourth at the notoriously tough Course at Yale.
Facing tough competition from all over the country, the women’s team finished with a strong fourth-place performance shooting a combined score of 925. Interleague rivals Harvard finished first with a score of 894 followed by Longwood University (910) and Nova Southeastern University (913). The Bulldogs all played solidly, including Shreya Ghei ’15 (74, 78, 74) and Marika Liu ’15 (75, 79, 75), who finished 11th and 19th respectively. Sun Gyoung Park ’14 and Alex Lipa ’13 tied for 21st (234).
Seo Hee Moon ’14, continuing where she left off after a standout freshman season, led the team with a strong first-place finish. Moon led all competitors with first- and second-round scores of 69 and 74, respectively. In a highly contested finish, the sophomore finished with a score of 75, tied with Harvard’s Tiffany Lim for first. Moon’s first day scores were ultimately the deciding factor, breaking the tie (218), allowing her to reclaim the Yale Women’s Intercollegiate title.
“Walking 36 holes is always tough,” Moon said. “I don’t think people understand, to have that mental stamina and physical stamina for that long and having to play well for 36 holes is always a challenge.”
The same rigorous schedule made the Adams Cup equally competitive for the men’s team against 19 other colleges. After finishing the first 36 holes on Monday in sixth at the challenging Newport National Golf Course, the Bulldogs made a notable last day surge to finish third at the second venue, the Carnegie Abbey Club. Led by Sam Bernstein ’14, the team improved over last year’s ninth-place finish. Bernstein, last season’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, shot a final round of 67 (-4) to climb the leader board en route to a tie for fourth.
“We had an okay morning round and a great second round,” Bernstein said. “My turning point was my last hole of the first round.”
Bernstein eagled the last hole, keeping both himself and his team in sight of first place. Ahead of the Elis (860) were the defending Adams Cup Champions, the University of Central Florida (842) and NCAA championship finalists, Georgia Bulldogs (851).
Bradley Kushner ’13 also helped the Bulldogs to its third-place finish firing a 70 (-1) to finish in sixth. William Davenport ’15 played well on his final day (73) to finish tied for 14th. Team veterans captain Jefferey Hatten ’12 and Russel Holmes ’12 finished in 41st and 51st, respectively.
The men’s and women’s teams hope to use their momentum from the weekend in their upcoming tournaments. The men will continue their fall season on Oct. 1 and 2 at the MacDonald Cup at Yale. The women will be hitting the road to the Nittany Lion Invitational on Sept. 30 at the Penn State Golf Course.
“We want to win,” women’s captain Lily Bottecher ’12 said. “We have the players and the talent, and now need to put it together on the weekend.”