Last weekend, women’s golf were champions at the NYU Fall Invitational. The team scored a total of 619 to lead the field and Joanna Kim ’22 topped the field as individual medalist.
The team travelled to the Forest Hill Field Club. At the end of play on the first day, the host team, NYU, was in the lead with a team total of 305. Williams was in second with 313 and Amherst was in third with 330. Cordelia Chan ’19 and Olivia White ’22 paced the way with matching 76s.
“I was hitting fairways today which definitely made things easier. Hopefully I can do the same tomorrow, so that I can put myself in good positions to score,” White said after the first day. White sported two back to back birdies on her way to her second lowest collegiate score.
Next up was Kim with an 80, Stella Woo ’21 with an 81 and Holly Davenport ’21 with an 82.
The team also brought Isabella Wang ’19 as an individual, and she shot an 82.
“I was pleased to see how calm and collected the team was on the course and we are getting closer to playing our best game,” head coach Tomas Adalsteinsson remarked on Saturday’s performance.
On Sunday, a solid showing from NYU put them in the lead by eight strokes after the first day of play. The Ephs, however, were not going to go down without a fight.
The Ephs put together their lowest one-day score of the fall with a 306. NYU posted a second day total of 325, which meant that Williams had overcome the eight shot deficit and beat the home team by 11 strokes overall. Williams came in first with a 619, NYU second with 630 and Amherst third with 648.
Kim had to fight for her spot in the Eph top five, missing out on one tournament early on. Kim was adamant to make it back on the lineup and has never wavered from the number one or two spot since. She capped off her first collegiate season with her first collegiate win. Kim shot a two-over 74 on Sunday to improve on her Saturday score of 80, which was the lowest score of the field on the second day.
“I think this course really emphasizes good short game and putting. This week I was able to line up the ball with confidence and make a smooth stroke,” Kim said. “My long game wasn’t where I hoped it could be but I was able to work around the deficit with a strong short game.”
Chan was next up in the lineup. Her 78 on the second day put her tied with Kim for first place. After a scorecard playoff, Kim was awarded medalist honors.
The scoring continued with Davenport and Woo matching with a pair of 77s. Davenport and Woo placed T10 and T8. White finished out the top five with an 81.
White, similar to Kim, has had an impressive fall season as a first-year. She played in every event in the Eph top five and carded top scores of 74 and a 76 this season. Her consistency every time she stepped on the course was key to the Ephs’ success this season.
Wang played her last fall season tournament this weekend, shooting an 88 on the second day of play to place for 22nd.
“It was great to end the fall season with such a strong team performance,” Adalsteinsson said. “This performance will carry well into the off season, and the players needed to see their games come together to see what we are truly capable of. We have a fairly young team that’s learned a lot during this fall season, and we will benefit from it come spring time. It’s also fun to see a first-year earn medalist honors in her rookie collegiate season.”
The Ephs conclude their fall slate and will return to action in the spring.
