W. Golf set for Ivy Champs

Stamina will be a huge factor this weekend as the Penn women's golf team heads to Trenton Country Club in Trenton, N.J., to compete against Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton and Brown in the Ivy League Championships.

With the tourney's format altered to mirror that of the men's, 36 holes await the Quakers on Saturday.

"We are going to be on the golf course for a very long time on Saturday," Penn sophomore Valerie Wong said. "I think it's going to be a very difficult challenge, but our entire team will make it through.

"We will probably be on the golf course from when the sun rises to when it sets."

The Red and Blue knew this long day was coming. The Quakers changed their practices -- 10 holes of play have been raised to 18 -- in order to prepare for Saturday's marathon.

Also, Penn has acknowledged that throughout the day, the team may get weaker. Therefore, the Quakers have been devising ways to make up for fatigue.

"We have been doing a lot of short game work," Penn freshman Lauren Eveland said. "When you play 36 holes, no matter what condition you are in you are going to get lazy. You are going to have to make it up with chips and putts."

After Saturday's grueling 36 holes, Sunday will follow with 18 more, making the competition a 54-hole challenge.

Of the five golfers sent from the squad, the lowest four 54 hole scores will be counted as Penn's final composite score.

In all likelihood, it will be the Quakers' regular lineup of Eveland, Wong, junior Stacy Kress, sophomore Jessica Penzell and freshman Melissa Aylor.

An extra tweak in the competition -- aside from the increase in the number of rounds -- may come from Mother Nature.

Looking at the current forecast, there is a high chance that rain could interrupt the weekend play.

But this may not be a bad thing at all. The Quakers have played their best golf under rainy conditions and might be better suited if the forecast is proven correct.

As for the other teams in the field, Yale and defending champion Princeton are the favorites to win.

Last season, the Tigers took home the title by shooting a 36-hole combined score of 625.

By comparison, Penn finished with 706 strokes in last year's event.

A major advantage for both Yale and Princeton -- which contributes to their favorite status -- is that they have their own courses on campus.

Still, the Red and Blue are hoping that some of the more-skilled teams to falter, allowing them to emerge with a good place in the overall tourney.

"People's games can be on one day," Eveland said, "and off another."

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