When senior captain Judd Pritchard of the men's golf team was a freshman, he found victory when he won the individual Ivy League title. Four years later, he would bring the team along.
This weekend at the Metedeconk National Golf Course in Jackson, Princeton topped Penn to take first place in the Ivy League championships for the first time in five years. Pritchard himself took third place, shooting 73-75-75—223, but the individual title was again crowned on a Tiger freshman — Nat Hoopes, who shot 71-71-77—219. Sophomore James Milam, shooting 79-71-75—225, grabbed fifth place and joined Hoopes and Pritchard as first-team All-Ivy selections.
The women's golf team took second place behind Yale as they likewise contended for the Ivy League crown at Pine Barrens Golf Course in Jackson. Even though Princeton had the low round for the second day, it could not make up for the 13-stroke lead Yale had accumulated on the first day.
Solo success
Nevertheless, several Princeton women made strong individual showings. Junior Adrienne Gill tied for first place with Yale's Sarah Seo with a 77-76—153, although the Tiger ended up as the runner-up after a playoff round. Freshman Vanessa Redman also garnered first team All-Ivy honors in third place.
Freshman Cassidy Traub and junior Peter McWhorter punctuated the men's team's dominance with scores of 81-72-77—230 and 81-75-75—231, respectively, as not a single Tiger came in behind 14th place.
"It just doesn't get much better," Hoopes said. "We accomplished our goal. College golf is about team."
After Penn took the first-round lead by three shots, Princeton rallied with a second round described by Milam as "naughty." Two 75s, a 72 and two 71s gave Princeton a substantial lead. Nevertheless, as the Tigers approached the 17th hole on the last day, Penn was breathing down their necks — only two strokes behind.
Somehow, in the final two holes, Princeton turned that two-stroke lead into a nine-stroke win.
Hoopes himself was tied for the individual title on the last hole. Refusing to buckle under the pressure, he birdied it while his opponent, Penn's Chad Perman, faltered with a bogey.
The team's mental concentration is due in large part to the leadership of Pritchard, who has kept the team's eyes on the prize all season long, even after a spectacular showing at the Navy Spring Invitational.
"Judd just kept us focused, especially after winning at Navy," Hoopes said.
Perhaps the sweetest spoil of the weekend, however, is the bid that the team will now receive for the NCAA tournament, starting May 16.
"[It's] a big honor to get to go," Pritchard said. "We all think we can do something there."
Falling short
The women's team, on the other hand, had a hard-fought weekend but came up just short.
"[It was] kind of disappointing not to beat Yale, especially since we knew we could beat them," Redman said. "It didn't seem like it was really our weekend."
Indeed, the Tigers and the Elis have been see-sawing for supremacy all season. Princeton has already beaten Yale twice, but has found itself down in the last two tournaments.
Gill found herself competing in two playoffs this week. The first one actually occurred before the tournament even began, when she contended against a teammate to see if she would even make the travelling team. The second playoff came after the tournament was over and decided whether or not she would be the Ivy League champion. By a twist of fate, she won the first but lost the second.
With the big tournament of the year over, both the men and the women are looking toward the future, where even more difficult competition awaits.
"[We're looking to] prove to these Big Ten schools that Princeton can play," Gill said.
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