This weekend, much is at stake for both the Penn men and women's golf teams, as both play for more than a 'W.' The men will be competing for a bid to the regional collegiate tournament while the women will take part in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
The two teams will participate in separate tournaments along the east coast. Men's coach Rob Powelson leads his team into New Haven, Conn., for the MacDonald Cup, while Francis Vaughn takes the women's team to Williamsburg, Va., for the ECAC.
Last year, the Penn men's golf team became the first Ivy team to win the MacDonald Cup in tournament history, and Powelson does not think that a repeat performance would be unlikely.
"We've got five solid players heading into the tournament," Powelson said. "We know the golf course, and we know the competition."
Not only will the team start off confident, it will carry over momentum from a solid final round at Saint John's two weeks ago and a second-place finish at Navy that previous week.
The Quakers will also have one final tournament, the Big Five Classic, before the regional bids are decided. Pending their results at the MacDonald Cup, then the chances for a bid will hinge on the Classic.
"The subplot to all this is if we continue our solid play then it sets the stage for us to be one of the top-5 teams in the district," Powelson said. "So we control our own destiny."
Golfers at opposite points in their college careers will play a crucial role in these final tournaments.
Freshman Chance Pipitone "has really shined this season, and [senior captain Sean] Barrett has demonstrated great leadership," Powelson said.
The other three golfers competing will be co-captain Dean Merrill, sophomore Michael Blodgett and junior Nick Ryder.
The women's team will also take part in a crucial tournament when it takes part in an ECAC tournament that has not been held for a few years. Many of the teams at the tournament will be familiar competition for the Quakers - opposition that has caused struggles for the Penn team earlier this season.
"We'll be playing with a lot of teams that we've been playing with at Yale and Princeton," said senior captain Stephanie Stamas. "We've struggled against them, but were a young team. . We'll pick it up this weekend."
Stamas will be joined by teammates sophomore Nicole Kouch, Lisette Vitter, freshman Meredith Kotowski and freshman Catherine Elliott.
The team will look to improve upon the sixth- and eighth-place finishes they played to in their last two tournaments, and the ECAC would be the perfect place for the young team to make a statement.
If all goes well, this weekend may prove to be a prelude to very productive seasons for both teams.
