Golf Teams Finish Middle of the Pack

The Harvard women's golf team defeated arch-rival Dartmouth to finish sixth in the Northeast Championships at Amherst this weekend.

The Crimson was led by sophomore Alexis Boyle, who fired a two-day total of 175. Boyle, struggled early, shooting a 94 over the first 18 holes, but rebounded well with an 81 on Sunday.

"There is a lot more pressure on me to do well," Boyle said. "This fall we only had three people on the team and we played as individuals."

Harvard also received solid performances from freshman Sue Ranere and sophomore Megan Murray, who tallied a 176 and 178 respectively.

Like many spring tournaments, the Northeast Championships challenged the players because of inclement weather.

"It rained and the wind was awful," Boyle said. "But considering the conditions, we did very well."

In fact the Crimson nearly garnered fifth place finishing only two strokes behind Yale.

"We're definitely in shooting distance of finishing second and third in these tournaments," Boyle said. "We've made a considerable amount of progress."

Although the prospects of threatening first-place Princeton remain slim, this relatively young team hopes to continue its improvement.

"I think that our team total will definitely drop in the next two tournaments," Boyle said.

In men's golf, Harvard finished fourth in a field of 18 teams at the URI-Newport Invitational.

Sophomore Luis Sanchez led the Crimson with a four-over-par 75 on Saturday and a 73 on Sunday, good for a second-place finish.

Sanchez also finished in the top 10 in last year's tournament with a 154 over two days.

The Crimson's top golfer, junior Joel Radtke, struggled with his putting in less than optimal conditions to shoot an 83 on Sunday and a 159 for the tourney.

URI's Andy Young (a native Rhode Islander) won the tournament with a 146, while UConn nipped Salem State for the team title.

The golf team heads to Portsmouth, New Hampshire this Thursday to compete in the New England Division One Championships.