Long drives turn heads, but it's putting that wins titles.
If the Quakers hope to somehow do that this weekend at the Ivy women's golf championship, they'll have to improve on what coach Francis Vaughn calls "an Achilles heel."
The Quakers have to finish on the greens at the Atlantic City Golf Club in New Jersey in order to beat the six other Ivy contenders and win their first league title. A championship would certainly be a sweet ending for senior captain Meg Bender and her classmate Shara Venezia-Walerstein.
"I know I'll be thinking back on the last round," said Bender. "I want to post a score."
From 1996 through 2006, Yale and Princeton dominated the Ivies, but last year Columbia broke the 11-year trend. Penn hopes to follow in the Lions' footsteps.
In order to finish atop the Ancient Eight ladder, Bender said that she and her teammates "need to play smart, do the best we can and believe in ourselves."
Though his team has finished in the bottom third of the field at its two spring meets, Vaughn has not lost his optimism.
"We've had some good practice sessions [at other tournaments]" said Vaughn. "I feel confident."
Furthermore, Bender believes the team learned a lot from its last performance at the Hoya Invitational.
According to Bender, Penn's ninth-place finish - behind Princeton, Yale and Columbia - lit a spark.
Since then, Bender said, the Quakers have "put in the effort" to win.
However, winning a championship takes more than just effort; it requires a weekend of perfection.
But practice is supposed to make perfect, and Vaughn said his players have been driving the ball well in their practice rounds. Bender added that putting - that "Achilles heel" - has been a major focus as of late, and that the team has seen improvement in that area because of it.
"We know that's where we score," she said. "Right now, all our short games are in pretty good shape."
The Quakers will have to string all those elements together to have any chance of pulling out the upset.
"We've played better than we've been playing, but we've had some good practices," said Vaughn.
"I think we have an opportunity."
