The sun was shining brightly, there was not a single cloud in the sky, and a pleasant breeze came through the tree limbs every few minutes. It was a perfect setting for a golf match, and for the first time in Ithaca College’s history, there was one.

The golf team competed in its inaugural varsity match Saturday at the Country Club of Ithaca. Even more remarkably, the Bombers defeated William Smith College in convincing fashion, 370–412. The par-72 course played to 5,805 yards.

The victory was largely because of the stellar play of freshman Jackie Young, who led the team with a low round of 89, her personal best. Freshman Brooke Llobell posted the team’s second best score with a 90, and classmate Samantha Liberty shot the fourth best score for Ithaca with a solid 98. Junior Christie O’Shea also shot a personal best round of 93.

Head Coach Dan Wood, who is in his first season with the team, said prior to the match that he needed the three starting freshmen to play well in order for success against William Smith.

“I thought going into the match that if Jackie, Samantha and Brooke shot around a 90–100, we would be in good shape,” he said. “I was expecting for a total of 380 [shots], and we did 10 shots better than that.”

Wood said he wasn’t completely sure how his newcomers would fare in their first experience of competition at such a high level, but he was confident in his team’s ability to fight for the win.

Young, who has only played golf for three years, was named the Empire 8 Athlete of the Week. Her shot of the day came on the tough 350-yard par-4 17th hole. After she missed the green in regulation, Young hit a great shot off the putting surface into the hole for birdie.

“My driver was my best club all day,” Young said. “I didn’t hit that many fairways, but I was hitting the ball long and not more than five yards off the fairway.”

Llobell has been one of the Bombers’ most consistent players this season, Wood said. That strong play continued Saturday with identical scores of 45 on both the front and back nine. Wood said he has been working with Llobell during practice on hitting down more on the ball in order to make a divot.  

This came in handy when she approached the 7th hole, a 130-yard, par-3. Llobell struck a 6-iron flush and landed the ball 6 feet from the pin. This was a putt she would go on to make for birdie.

“My putter was really working for me,” Llobell said. “I had 32 putts and still missed two or three putts that I feel I should have made.”

Wood said he was not surprised by the standout play of the three freshmen golfers in their first taste of competition of this magnitude. He said he expects that they will do the same in their next match when they return to action Saturday and Sunday at the St. Lawrence Invitational.

“I saw the potential very early,” Wood said. “Brooke shot an 86 in practice, so it doesn’t surprise me that she would shoot a 90 in her first match. They handled their nerves very well. They didn’t seem to panic at all in their first collegiate competition, which is a good thing to move forward with.”

 

Ithaca 370, William Smith 412
Country Club of Ithaca - Par 72 - 5,805 yards

Ithaca - 370
Jackie Young 43-46 - 89
Brooke Llobell 45-45 - 90
Christie O'Shea 48-45 - 93
Samantha Liberty 49-49 - 98
Laurel Stinson 58-56 - 114
Lauren Ryan 61-58 - 119

William Smith - 412
Lauren Carlson 46-39 - 85
Katrina Carey 48-48 - 96
Brittany Furlong 58-50 - 108
Trilbey Smith 62-61 - 123