You hear coaches say it every year: This is the best team we have ever had. However, for Penn women’s golf coach Mark Anderson, that statement just might be true.
Although this weekend’s Princeton Invitational results were “no surprise” according to Anderson, the Quakers shot their lowest single round, 305, and combined scores, 617, for a 36-hole tournament in the program’s seven-year history.
“It’s the best [women’s golf] team we have ever had at Penn and they should break every record that they have set,” Anderson said.
Their record-setting scores gave the Quakers fourth place at the two-day, 12-team tournament held at Springdale Golf Club in Princeton, N.J.
Rollins won the tournament with a score of 602, while last year’s Ivy League Champion Harvard finished with a score of 607 and claimed second place. Rollins junior Joanna Coe shot the tournament’s low round of 71 Sunday and the tournament’s lowest combined score of 146.
Anderson was impressed with the play of senior Meredith Kotowski, who shot Penn’s lowest combined score of 150 and claimed fifth place individually.
“I think I played pretty well,” Kotowski said. “I was pretty even-keeled both days, just making a lot of par and I never made a double bogey, so I think that kept my momentum going.”
Freshman Isabel Han made an immediate impact on her new team; she shot Penn’s lowest individual round with a score of 74.
According to Kotowski, the Lake Mary, Fla., native will continue to be a key component of the Quakers’ lineup for years to come.
“She did really well, especially for her first tournament,” Kotowski said. “I remember looking back on freshman year and it’s a lot of pressure. Especially after a great first round, it’s tough to keep it up on the second day, but she did really well under pressure.”
Despite this weekend’s success, Anderson and the Quakers remain determined to improve.
“I’m certainly proud of how they played,” Anderson said. “The biggest thing we have to work on as a whole is reducing the number of three putts and working on our short game, and that’s something that we will have to definitely focus on in the next four days or so.”
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