Golf | Ivy Championships | Blodgett makes history at Galloway

Junior Michael Blodgett will always remember the 2008 men's golf Ivy Championship at Galloway National Golf Course in New Jersey. Blodgett dominated on the renowned course, winning Penn's first-ever Ivy League individual championship by three strokes. He also tied Brown's Larry Haertel for a new course record of 67.

"I'm elated," Blodgett said. "It was an incredible weekend. I had family here and to be out there with my teammates was something special. To be able to hold the course record at such an amazing place like Galloway is awesome."

The rest of the Penn team, though, did not have similar success. The defending champion Quakers finished third overall, behind first-place Columbia and second-place Yale.

Blodgett originally struggled, shooting a 75 in round one. But after a little break, he said that he was ready to improve his score.

"I changed my grip on my putting," he said. "I didn't feel very comfortable with it when I was out on the golf course."

Blodgett reverted back to the way he had been putting, and the slight change brought big results.

In addition to Blodgett, senior Michael Kornheiser tied for 11th place, classmate and captain Dean Merrill tied for 25th, freshman Kevin Huntington tied for 28th and junior Brett Rendina finished 30th.

"It's hard to win the Ivy League last year and come back this year and not win," Merrill said.

Tough conditions and a difficult course challenged the squad, but the team never hit its stride this season.

"We had our ups and downs," Blodgett said. "We learned a lot about ourselves this season. I think we were just really struggling to put all five scores together this year, but a third place finish shows that we can play with these guys."

But Merrill said he and the team were very happy about Blodgett's performance both this weekend and throughout the year. Blodgett was the top finisher in six of the team's eight tournaments this year.

"Definitely give Michael a lot of props," Merrill said.

Assistant coach Chad Perman also said Blodgett's first place in the tournament was a good reflection on the program and will help make a name for Penn golf.

Women finish fifth. After the first round of the Ivy Championships on Saturday at Atlantic City Golf Club, it seemed like the Penn women's golf team might upset powerhouse Yale.

Penn was in fourth after 36 holes with a total score of 625, only nineteen strokes behind third-place Columbia. Penn was also behind Harvard and Princeton.

However, the Bulldogs pulled past the Quakers on Sunday and snatched fourth place. Harvard clinched the title, while the Red and Blue placed fifth in the tournament for the second year in a row with a score of 936.

Coach Francis Vaughn said it did not reflect his team's overall performance.

"It was the best the team's ever played," Vaughn said. "And it was the best scores we've ever posted. It was the best that any of my teams have ever played. "

Sophomore Lisette Vitter said the New Jersey course was challenging for everyone, but it complemented Penn's style of play.

"I think it was a pretty tricky course," Vitter said. "It has a lot of personality, as far as golf courses go, but it's set up really nicely for our team and played to our strengths" - like the team's strong drives.

Vitter was the top performer for the squad, tying for eighth overall with a total score of 228. Classmate Meredith Kotowski was the next-best finisher, tying for 12th. Senior captain Meg Bender finished 19th and sophomore Catherine Elliot finished 21st.

The Quakers had a solid first day, but the women could not keep up the momentum for their third round.

"To play 10 to 12 hours of golf one day, then go to sleep and be on the golf course the next morning at 6 or 7 a.m. to play another five hours gets tiresome," Vitter said.

Also, the strong winds off the water on Sunday - 15 miles an hour, with some gusts - did not help the team or its opponents.

"You had to think a little bit more today, but overall the scores were higher for all the teams," Vaughn said.

The Quakers were proud of beating their 2007 final score by 73 strokes.

"To basically have the same team and improve by [that much] is pretty nice," Vaughn said.

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