The Penn women's golf team had not played in a tournament since October, and the rust was readily apparent this weekend as the Quakers finished 12th out of 16 teams at the William & Mary Invitational in Williamsburg, Va.
The Red and Blue finished 70 shots back of last year's Division II national champion Rollins College. Penn was paced by senior captain Melissa Aylor who shot a 162 over two days. Her team-best score placed her in a tie for 24th in the tournament overall.
This was a disappointing performance for Aylor given that she finished third in the tournament in 2004 and tied for first in 2003. Aylor was followed by Meg Bender with a 163, Kim Thompson at 173 Stephanie Stamas at 176 and Megan Brady at 177.
Coach Francis Vaughn said that overall, the Quakers just "played OK."
Vaughn tried to put a positive spin on the tournament .
"We had a good tournament in terms of knowing what we have to work on."
Aylor reiterated her coach's point, calling the tournament a positive experience.
"We can use our next week of practice correctly and work on things, and hopefully move up the leaderboard," the senior said.
There were few highlights for the Quakers this weekend though. Penn did play against strong competition, including the 2004 national champions for both Division II and Division III, which finished one and two, respectively. However, the Quakers were pleased that they beat out Ivy League foe Dartmouth by five strokes.
Penn will travel to Leesburg, Va. on Saturday to participate in the Georgetown Invitational.
Wm. and Mary Invite: Final Scores
School 1 2 Total To Par
1 Rollins 299 304 603 +27
2 Methodist 308 311 619 +43
3 Longwood 317 309 626 +50
4 Elon 321 317 638 +62
5 Wm. & Mary 322 318 640 +64
5 Ball State 322 318 640 +64
7 Bucknell 328 326 654 +78
7 Winthrop 325 329 654 +78
7 Georgetown 322 332 654 +78
10 Radford 337 323 660 +84
11 St. Fran. (PA) 329 343 672 +96
12PENN 335 338 673 +97
13 Dartmouth 336 342 678 102
14 Old Dominion 340 349 689 +113
15 Rutgers 341 352 693 +117
16 Hampton 498 478 976 +400
