Crimson Drops Ivy Tuneup To Tigers

Another weekend, and yet another strong showing by the Harvard women’s golf team. This time, however, it was not the usual first-place finish. In its penultimate tournament before the all-important Ivy League Championships, the Crimson ended up six strokes behind Princeton, good for second place in the Roar-EE Invitational, hosted by Columbia University at Spook Rock Golf Course in Suffern, N.Y.

It was Harvard’s first tournament loss since last year’s Roar-EE Invitational.

The Tigers jumped out to an early lead Friday and never relinquished it, shooting 302-310 in the two-day competition to finish ahead of the Crimson and four other members of the Ancient Eight. The only Ivy League team not to participate was Cornell.

“We had a decent tournament,” Harvard coach Kevin Rhoads said. “It would have been nice to come away with the win, but Princeton played slightly better than we did.”

Crimson sophomore Mia Kabasakalis tore her way through the par-72, 6018-yard course, leading her team with a total score of 154, which put her in a tie for fifth. Building upon a first-day 78 with a second-day 76, she finished only four strokes behind Eva Mayr of Fairleigh Dickinson, who earned medalist honors at 150.

“Mia’s been playing really well,” Rhoads said. “I’ve been expecting this kind of tournament from her any time now. She putted beautifully on greens that provided a lot of challenge for most people…and her long game was really solid as well.”

Senior Emily Balmert tied for seventh with a two-birdie 75 and an 80 the next day. She chalked up the jump on her scorecard to the randomness inherent in the sport.

“With golf, what’s tricky is you have to work with what you have that day,” Balmert said. “Golf is funny like that. Sometimes things work out, and sometimes they don’t. [Saturday] the ball just didn’t go in the hole as fast as I would have liked.”

Freshman Christine Cho turned in another solid performance, tallying a 79-77 to end up in a tie for 12th place. Her three birdies on Saturday were highlights of the round.

“The technical of her full swing is quite good; her short game is really good,” Rhoads said. “Christine made some mistakes, just like everybody else did, and still shot a good score. That’s just a good indication of an all-around game, which she has.”

Cho struggled with her putting, a common complaint among her teammates. The course was aerified three weeks ago, leaving quite a few bumps on the quick greens.

“I had a lot of three-putts; I missed a lot of short ones,” Cho said. “They cut [the greens] a couple of weeks ago, so they were kind of tricky.”

Rounding out the top twenty was senior Ali Bode, who improved by eight strokes following a first-day 84.

Junior Claire Sheldon seemed to be off her game, tying for 36th with a total of 166. Her 77 on Friday was eclipsed by an 89 her next round, but her coach did not sound too worried about the decline.

“Claire’s swinging as well as I’ve ever seen her swing; she’s putting great,” Rhoads said. “In terms of the overall structure of all the players’ games, I’m pretty happy about where we are.”

Up next is the Ivy League Championships in Atlantic City, N.J., next weekend. The tournament serves as the pinnacle of the Crimson’s season, and all eyes will be on the Harvard squad as it prepares to defend its title.

“We’re excited,” Balmert said. “Coming off of our win last year, we would love to do it again and prove that we really are the strongest team in the Ivy League. It’s a strong statement, but it’s our chance to back it up.”

—Staff writer Dennis J. Zheng can be reached at dzheng12@college.harvard.edu.