After struggling in the first day of play, the women's golf team redeemed itself with consistent play on Saturday at the Mount Holyoke Invitational at Rutgers last weekend.
"We were a little disappointed at first," Coach Izzy Johnson said. "We had some very nice nine holes scores, but we didn't come through in the back nine."
After the long trip to Rutgers University, the Big Green were a bit slow off the tee on Friday, but they were able to pick up the pace Saturday to move from fifth to fourth position.
"I thought the team did pretty well," Meredith Johnson '98 said. "It was a long van ride and we were a little tired Friday. None of us had played the course before either, and I think knowing the course better the second day helped a lot."
The Big Green was led by Sara Vogler '96, who tied at eighth place in the five-team tournament.
Johnson, after shooting an eagle on the second hole to start the second day, earned an 11th place finish.
Not only had Johnson never seen the course, but she is only the fourth player ever to shoot an eagle on the par-four hole in tournament history.
"We did well considering that the course was playing tough and none of us had played at Rutgers before," Heidi Coderman '96 said. "The other teams also had the advantage of a practice round."
Coderman, who on Saturday shot a 40 on the front nine and ended the day with an 87, tied for 14th place.
"The more tournaments we play, the more confidence we'll gain," Johnson said. "Our comfort zone will increase and that will definitely help the quality of our play."
With three tournaments under their belt, the Big Green will travel to Penn State this weekend for the East Coast Athletic Conference Championships.
"Our goal at the ECACs is to finish in the top half, which will be tough considering the excellent caliber of the southern schools," Coderman said.
Among top southern schools will be the College of William and Mary, James Madison University and the "Big Ten" contender Pennsylvania State. In all, approximately 20 teams will be teeing off Saturday morning.
"We have a lot of players who have had some excellent rounds this season," Coderman said. "So our goal for all of our games is to come together at the same time."
This week at practice, the Big Green will concentrate on course management and short games, but the key for Dartmouth to win the championship on Saturday will lie in the players' ability to seize the moment.
Johnson is hoping for all of her players to do well in the tournament, but she is especially counting on Vogler to make the difference for the team.
"Sarah Vogler is one player who has always risen to the occasion," Johnson said. "I'm looking for her to make an impact this weekend."
Physical adjustments will not be as crucial as the overall mental preparation that the team must make if Dartmouth hopes to finish in the top half of the pack.
"Physically we can do it," Johnson said. "We have to prepare mentally and we have to be more positive going in. We have to take the 'let's make it happen' approach."
Although Vogler and her teammates will face a new and unfamiliar course at Penn State, Johnson said she looks for her players to adjust since last week's course at Rutgers is very similar to the course this weekend.
"We've improved a lot this fall so hopefully the course at Penn State will bring out the best in us," Coderman said.
