Last weekend, the Penn women's golf team finished just two strokes shy of Yale and host Columbia at the ROAR-EE Invitational. The Quakers slipped from third place to fifth place in the second day of play, but this upcoming weekend they have one last opportunity to outperform their Ancient Eight rivals.
The Red and Blue are in Northfield, N.J., today at the Atlantic City Country Club for the first round of Ivy League Championships. The event consists of three 18-hole rounds today, tomorrow and Sunday, although in the past it was normally just two days.
Junior captain and No. 1 player Lisette Vitter believes the change will be an advantage for her team because it will give the women more time to practice and adjust to the more difficult course.
"There are some really tricky holes, and it gets really windy because it's right on the water," Vitter said. "There are also a lot of sand traps on the fairway, which can really mess you up, but there are also some holes that you can score on that aren't too long and would be really good birdie opportunities."
Penn hopes to show off its putting skills, which have been the primary focus the past week. They will also try to cut through the wind with "knock-down" shots, which coach Mark Anderson explained are balls hit lower and with less spin.
Playing at No. 2 this weekend is freshman Tiffany Cheung. Behind Cheung are juniors Meredith Kotowski and Catherine Elliot and freshman Elizabeth Pettie.
"I think we have to approach [the tournament] a little differently and view each day as a separate event," Anderson said. "If we just do one at a time, we'll be able to finish stronger."
The Quakers need to be able to maintain their focus if they hope to improve on the past two years' fifth place finish.
"It's a marathon and not a sprint," Vitter said. "I think we just have to go out and not worry about the scores, just focus on the shot and not on trying to post a good score. . It's so mental it can really creep in and distract you."
Anderson believes his players are ready and sees a confidence in them that wasn't evident at the beginning of the season.
"I think everybody's getting very close to being at the top of their game," Anderson said. "It'll be exciting to see."
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