Crimson Cruises In Tune-Up Match

With only two weeks remaining before the Ivy League Championships, the Harvard women’s golf team appears poised to be in strong contention for its third-straight Ancient Eight title.

The Crimson continued to steamroll its competition this weekend, as the squad won the Dartmouth Spring Invitational at the Cape Cod Country Club in Hatchville, Mass., by a margin of 38 strokes.

“It’s a building block for Ivies, and we continue to get a little bit better every week,” Crimson coach Kevin Rhoads said. “We shot quite a good number today—a lot of positives to take away from this weekend.”

Harvard dominated the two-round tournament with a final team score of 589, while second-place Siena finished with a total of 627.

A 669 by Dartmouth was good for third, and Central Connecticut State and Boston University rounded out the competition with a 690 and 692, respectively.

The lowest four scores out of each school’s five competitors were counted in the team event.

Opening the par-71, 6,018-yard course with a 301 Saturday—earning it the top spot by 12 strokes—Harvard did not let up the second time around, turning in a four-over-par 288, a score that bested Siena’s second-round try by 26 shots.

“I definitely like to see improvement from one day to the next,” Rhoads said. “It’s kind of a typical trend, and I like that. But it also tells me that we don’t put added pressure on ourselves; we just keep on paying attention and getting a little bit better with the things that we can control.”

Of the field’s top seven golfers, all but one hailed from Harvard, which saw every one of its seven players finish in the top 10.

Despite being seeded fourth on her squad, sophomore Christine Cho was the weekend’s top individual performer with a two-day total of 144.

After shooting a 74 Saturday—tying with teammate and captain Claire Sheldon for the best round of the day—the reigning Ivy Rookie of the Year fired a second-day 70, catapulting her to the top of the leaderboard.

“It kind of all came together today,” said Cho, who led all golfers with six birdies. “Not completely, but it was feeling better than it had been earlier in the spring.”

“She’s trending in the direction we expect from her,” Rhoads added. “Most people, when they’re not playing quite as well, tend to panic, but she’s kind of plodded along and continued to work on the things she’s worked on.”

Sheldon maintained her high level of play—having won the individual title two weeks ago against Lynn—by turning in a pair of 74s for second place.

“I had some moments of brilliance and some moments where I struggled a lot,” said the veteran, who led all golfers in par-3 scoring.

Freshman Chloe Altchek and senior Sarah Harvey each tied for third place with scores of 150—their best performances of the spring season—and junior Mia Kabasakalis’s two-day total of 152 placed her sixth overall.

The trio’s placement at the top of the field provided a prime example of the talent coursing throughout the Crimson’s roster.

“We’re in an enviable position, and it’s certainly the reason we’ve won Ivy championships the last couple of years,” Rhoads said. “We have lots of people who can win individually, but we also have a communally strong team—anyone can end up in the top five on any given week, which, on our team, many times means they will be in the top five in the field.”

Freshman Katie Sylvan misfired with a first-day 83, but she salvaged a seventh-place finish with a Sunday 70, tying Cho for the best single round of the tournament.

Competing as an individual along with Altchek, sophomore Jane Lee came home with a 10th-place finish after shooting consecutive rounds of 80.

All in all, Harvard golfers had 20 birdies on the weekend, but Rhoads was wary of heaping too much praise on his squad.

“I definitely think all of us...left shots out there,” Rhoads said. “While we’re certainly pleased with what we did, we also know there are specific areas that we can improve upon.”

The Crimson now prepares for next weekend’s Roar-EE Invitational, its final tune-up before the all-important league championship.

“If everyone keeps pulling their own weight, and pushing one another, then I expect...we will give ourselves a good chance to win Ivies,” Rhoads said.

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