Market Bank Tournament | W. Golf looks for 9-mile iron

Walking 36 holes - nearly nine miles total - while carrying heavy clubs and still keeping a competitive attitude is a tough challenge, but Lisette Vitter is confident her team can handle it.

"I think our team can do it, I think we're all very hard workers," the Penn women's golf captain said. "We're all really committed to the team."

Vitter, a junior, and four of her teammates will travel to Williamsburg, Va., to play in the First Market Bank Intercollegiate tournament. The event will be held at the par-72 Marsh Hawk course, and the participants will play 36 holes Saturday and 18 holes Sunday.

For the Quakers, it's all about endurance.

"It's the first time since I've been coaching that we've been faced with that," first-year coach Mark Anderson said. "It's a good mental test and also a good physical test."

Anderson's lineup this weekend consists of Vitter at the number one spot, junior Meredith Kotowski at number two, junior Catherine Elliot at number three and freshmen Tiffany Cheung and Elizabeth Pettie at four and five, respectively.

"I would look for this to be one of our best finishes that we've had all year because we have a stronger team than we had in the fall," Anderson said. "Our freshmen have had a lot more experience, [and the girls] feel a lot more comfortable."

Depth is also something that will help the Quakers. Last year, they only competed with four players. This spring, however, Kotowski is back from a semester abroad, and talented freshmen are stepping up to contribute.

Anderson is unfamiliar with the course and the tournament, but all the upperclassmen traveling to Williamsburg have played in the event the past two years. Last year the team placed 17th out of 20 teams.

However, this upcoming tournament will be a little different. In previous years the players only played one round of 18 holes per day.

"It will be interesting to see how the scores change [with the new format]," Vitter said.

Despite the extra 18 holes on day one, Vitter feels Marsh Hawk is a manageable course.

"It's a little tricky, but it's nothing that we can't handle," she said. "There's some tricky driving holes and some pretty well-protected greens. There's also a fair amount of water, [but] as a team I think we're pretty straight hitters."

Although two other Ivy League teams - Columbia and Dartmouth - will also be at the tournament, Penn is more focused on its own game.

"It will be an opportunity for us to learn exactly what we need to work on for future tournaments and get back in to the tournament [mentality]," Vitter said.

Walking two rounds on day one will certainly show the women what they're made of.

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