In its first invitational of the season, the Ithaca College women’s golf team tied for third place at the St. Lawrence Invitational from Sept. 2–3. The Bombers tied with Hamilton College with a score of 645. New York University came in first place with a total of 599 and SUNY Cortland finished second with a score of 638. There were a total of 10 teams at the invitational.
On the first day, senior Kimberley Wong led the Blue and Gold. She finished her round with a score 75, which is only three over par, in third place. On the second day, Wong finished in fourth place with a total score of 151.
Wong said it was great to begin her senior year on the right foot and to see that her practice is paying off.
“The best part of my game this weekend was definitely my short game,” Wong said. “We all worked really hard on it during our preseason, so it was nice to see some of the things that we’ve been working on coming along.”
Junior Indiana Jones was another key player for the South Hill squad, finishing the invitational with a total score of 157, which placed her at tied for 10th with Hamilton’s sophomore Libbie Warner. Jones finished day one 11 over par, and she only added two more strokes to her score on day two, causing her to finish 13 over par.
Jones said she was able to learn from her mistakes on day one by making smarter choices and placing herself better on the tee, which allowed her to be more successful on day two.
“I was disappointed after the first round because I had four bad holes that really ruined my score,” Jones said. “Sunday’s round I was happy with because I did not start off well and I was really able to refocus myself and buckle down and play good golf. I was very happy with the weekend overall, though.”
Junior Kyra Denish and senior Mary Rooker also helped out the South Hill squad. Denish finished day one 15 over par, but came back on day two, only adding nine strokes to her total. She finished the tournament tied for 19th with senior Lexie Haehl of St. Lawrence University, with a total score of 168. Rooker placed in 33rd both days, shooting 21 over par on day one and shooting 16 over on day two. Her total score was 181.
Freshman Peyton Greco was the final player to compete for the Blue and Gold. Greco finished in 21st place, tying with junior Natalie Squillace of St. Lawrence University and sophomore Mallory Rosch from SUNY Cortland. After day one, Greco finished 12 over par and added 13 more strokes to her total after day two. Her total score was 169.
Greco said she was pleased with how she played and said she can’t wait to see how the rest of her college career plays out.
“My first college tournament was a great experience,” said Greco. “I’m really glad I had the chance to play this weekend. I was definitely nervous teeing off on the first hole for the first day, but now I have a college tournament under my belt and I’m ready for the next one.”
The team will compete next against William Smith College at 11 a.m. Sept. 17 in Geneva, New York.
