Under the guidance of interim head coach Kevin Gibson, the Big Green women's golf team journeyed south to Florida for spring break training and then on to Williamsburg, Va., to compete in the William & Mary Invitational tournament held last weekend.
The team spent seven days at a resort in Haines City, Fla. called Grene Lefe, where they were able to practice and play on three different courses on a daily basis.
The team returned with a ninth place finish in the tournament, but Lauren Epstein '00 said that she was pleased with the way the trip went for the team because of the opportunities they had to practice and play on great facilities in sunny warm weather.
"By the end of the Florida half of the trip, a few of us were putting up some very low numbers," Epstein said. "I think maybe the only problem was that we had played so many days in a row before the tournament. Some of us kind of tired out a little by the end, and that may have been one of the causes of why we all didn't play as well in the tourney as we hoped."
Coach Gibson said that he was very pleased with the way his team improved over the course of the trip.
"They played really well the last day we were there," Gibson said. "Everybody had personal bests, and I think they'll do even better when some of them get a little more tournament experience under their belts."
Dartmouth's two-round combined score of 725 left them tied with Radford University and 11 strokes ahead of the University of Dayton, which finished in 11th place with a score of 736.
James Madison University's score of 643 won the tournament which was played at Ford's Colony Country Club. The course is a par 72 with a yardage of 6853. UNC Wilmington took runner-up honors and Princeton was third.
Epstein led the Big Green with a two-day total of 170 (88-82) and placed 19th overall in the competition, but Princeton's Julia Allison, trailing by one stroke to Julie Rossum after the first day, took individual medalist honors with a two-day, low score of 156 (78-78).
Captain Meredith Johnson '98 finished just behind Epstein with a 177 (86-91), and Cara Mathews '99 was the next highest finisher for Dartmouth, firing a 188 (91-97).
Epstein noted that the fact that she and her teammates had not been able to play at all before the trip south played a big factor in their performance in the tournament.
"A few of the teams were playing in one of their last tournaments [of the season] in major contrast to us," she said.
"Princeton went out to San Diego, California and had played in one tournament already then came back out here to play [in Virginia]," Gibson said. "They're tough. They've got freshmen playing in the No. 1, 3 and 5 spots, so they'll be tough for a while."
Gibson said that he expects the team to continue to improve with time and practice, something they have just not had for the past few months.
"The one thing that is always the hardest to regain after you take a break from golf is the short game. Although you may remember the correct techniques, a lot of it is just feel, touch. That is something that takes a lot of time and practice to regain and we all definitely had trouble with this aspect of the game," Epstein said.
"That's why golf is golf," Gibson said. "Some days you have it, some days you don't."
Gibson was appointed interim coach in February and brings a wealth of experience to a team that returns two All-Ivy golfers in Samantha Sommers '99 and Epstein. He has been the head golf professional at the Country Club of New Hampshire since 1986 and is a past president of the New Hampshire chapter of the New England PGA.
He graduated from Springfield College in 1980 and then began his golf career that same year as golf professional/general manager at Carter Country Club in Lebanon. After six seasons there, he moved on to Country Club of New Hampshire in North Sutton, and he assumed additional duties as general manager in 1992.
Gibson has had previous coaching experience at both the high school and collegiate level, as he has served as varsity golf coach at Kearsarge Regional High School since 1988 and also as a basketball coach at both Colby-Sawyer College and Mascoma Valley Regional High. He said that he has enjoyed coaching the Big Green women so far this season.
"They work hard. We're just a little young," Gibson said. "We're just looking to get better every time we go out and play on the golf course."
The tournament at William & Mary was a challenging way for the Big Green to open the spring season. The Ford's Colony/W&M Invitational is a part of the 1997-98 Rolex Collegiate Tour. Administered by the non-profit College Golf Foundation, the Rolex Collegiate Tour is a 200-plus event tour that includes over 100 men and nearly 100 women's national and regional collegiate golf tournaments across the country.
This weekend the team will return to action at the Boston College Invitational, but because the Hanover Country Club is not yet playable, a warm-up round at B.C. may be the only time the women will have to work on their games before competition begins again on Friday.
"That's the hardest part, just finding someplace to hit balls," Gibson said. "The B.C. tournament is all northern schools, and for a lot of them it is their first time out. I'm interested to see where we will finish."
