There has been a different person leading the Penn women's golf team in almost all its tournaments this season. Any explanations?
"We don't play the same venue each time," said coach Francis Vaughn. "There are horses for courses and courses for horses."
This time, the course was the Raspberry Falls Golf and Hunt Club in Leesburg, Va., and the horse was freshman Meredith Kotowski. It didn't work out too badly for Penn, either.
Participating in Georgetown's Hoya Invitational, Kotowski led the Quakers to a sixth-place finish. She followed up her day-one performance of 77 with a final-round score of 74, leaving her tied for second overall with a score of 151 for the two-day tournament.
"Meredith happens to be a very good ball-striker," said Vaughn. "She hits the ball straight and stays out of trouble. This golf course had some trouble on it, and I think that played into her favor."
Last week at William & Mary, it was Lisette Vitter who led the Quakers. This week Vitter was again strong, posting a 159 (76, 83). Junior Meg Bender came in with a 163 (85, 77) and senior Stephanie Stamas tallied a 164 (87, 77).
Penn was 8th overall at the close of day one and improved to sixth after the final round. Three other Ivy League teams also competed in the tournament, all of whom finished ahead of Penn. Princeton captured the tournament, Yale came in right behind in second and Columbia rounded out the top five.
In Penn's freshmen-stacked lineup, the team has continued to prove it can stay focused in tight situations.
"I try to stay level with my emotions and not get too excited with a birdie or too down on myself when I hit a bad shot, so I just try to stay level the whole time," said Kotowski.
Vaughn is happy with his team's performance and likes the improvement he's seen.
"If we can continue to improve as a team and have someone like [Kotowski] to finish in the top five, that will help our team's performance as we head towards the Ivy League Championships."
Right now, Princeton is the favorite, as the Tigers have finished in the top five in six of their eight tournaments, winning three of them and coming in second in two more.
"I think we definitely have a shot, and I think that we are a threat because they don't consider us in the running for the championship," said Kotowski. "If we can bring it all together this last tournament we definitely have a chance for an Ivy title."
