Playing in its first tournament since October 2025, the Ithaca College golf team made a quick trip across the road to Cortland Country Club to compete in the Cortland Martin/Wallace Invitational on April 11 and April 12 and cruised to a first-place finish. The Bombers outlasted nine other teams in the field, shooting a 642 (+66) after two rounds, beating Union and SUNY Cortland by 38 strokes. 

Sophomore golfer Annelise Stencel took home the individual title for the event with a two-day total of 153 (+9). First-year golfer Brianna Morrison followed with a fourth–place finish at 157 (+13), while junior golfers Helena Winterberg and Abby Bladen tied for sixth, after each carded a 166 (+22).        

Round one:

On Saturday, the team opened up with a 315 (+27), taking a commanding lead over Union College (+54) and SUNY Cortland (+56). Despite brisk conditions and howling winds that heavily impacted ball flight, the Bombers pieced together several impressive rounds and adapted to the weather as the day progressed. 

Morrison exemplified this in her opening round, shooting a 6-over 42 on the front nine and battling back with a 3-under 33 on the back nine. She carded five birdies, which all came on the back nine that included a stretch of three consecutive birdies on holes 10, 11, and 12, with the other two coming on holes 15 and 16. 

Morrison said that the birdie on hole 10 kick-started her round and boosted her confidence, especially on the greens, as she had begun to find her putting stroke. 

“I think the mindset really changed after I had the birdie on 10,” Morrison said. “The greens were in my favor. … I think going into the back 9, having a fresh start, clean slate … trying to be more confident, I think that’s what kind of changed.” 

Overall, it was an up-and-down day for the Bombers on the greens, as they struggled to capitalize from short range, but hit some great putts from long distance. 

On the par-5 12th hole, Bladen pushed her drive into the trees on the right side, but hit a nice recovery shot back into the fairway. She would leave her third shot short and left of the green, leaving herself with a tricky putt from off the green. Bladen would knock in an approximately 40-foot, uphill birdie putt, which was her lone birdie of the opening round. 

Based on what head coach Keith Batson saw Saturday, he said that heading into Sunday, he wanted the team to tighten up around the greens, noting that made putts will lead to better scores. 

“We can improve our short games tomorrow,” Batson said. “We didn’t play a practice round so I think our feel around the greens, chipping and putting, will be better tomorrow. They will need to be better around the greens if we are going to improve our score.” 

At 11 a.m., when the first group teed off, it was a crisp 42 degrees with swirling winds that, at one point during the day, reached a high of 21 miles per hour. Morrison, who was in that first pairing, said that going through the entire pre-shot routine and accounting for the wind direction was essential for her shooting an opening round 75 (+3). 

“Every day is different in golf, and I think that you just kind of have to adapt with windy conditions,” Morrison said. “I think picking up the grass on every shot, seeing where it goes, really adjusting your yardages … It’s hard, but just try and push through a swing as you normally would.” 

Battling through the tricky conditions was something that coach Batson praised his team for after the match, emphasizing the great score that was put up given the weather.  

“I thought they did a great job today. [There were] really challenging conditions due to the cold and wind,” Batson said. “They battled all day and shot some really solid scores. 315 is a great team score today.”

Round two:

IC held on to their first-place lead Sunday, posting a final round score of 327 (+39) to clinch its second straight victory at the Martin/Wallace Invitational. It was an early start Sunday morning as the first group teed off an hour earlier than Saturday at 10 a.m., still having to deal with the same harsh winds from the day prior.  

The Bombers best round of the day came from Stencel, who shot a 3-over 75, highlighted by a pair of chip-ins, with one in particular on the front nine that provided a big momentum boost for her.  

Stencel’s tee shot on the par-3 6th hole was pulled left into the bunker, leaving her with a difficult up-and-down. She was able to get the ball out of the bunker on her second, but was unable to make the green. After the chunked bunker shot, Stencel would go on to play a perfect chip shot from out of the rough that found the bottom of the cup to save par. 

Stencel said the shot gave her the confidence she needed for the rest of the round to go low and helped her get into a rhythm. 

“It really helped, especially since I was struggling with my putting,” Stencel said. “I didn’t hit a super great bunker shot on that hole. It just kind of reset my mind and I was able to do well on the front nine and carry that over into the back nine.” 

Echoing what Batson said the day before about the need to make more putts, assistant coach Sophia Israel said that there were improvements from Saturday and noted how difficult it is to maintain a steady short game throughout the entirety of a tournament. 

“Every day is different when it comes to any part of the golf game, but especially short game,” Israel said. “So I did see a lot of improvement. I saw a lot of scrambling and a lot of real mental fortitude. I’m very proud of this group today.” 

This mental fortitude was on full display April 12 , and Israel said that this team’s ability to overcome adversity will take it far this season, especially with the Liberty League Championship Tournament approaching. 

“I think we have such a strong group of women who have put in so much work over the winter,” Israel said. “I think we have a real good advantage going into that weekend just because we are such a strong team in so many aspects, but especially mentally.”

The Bombers will return to the course April 25 when they travel to Schenectady, New York to compete in the Union Spring Invitational, followed by the Liberty League Championship on May 1 and May 2 at Teugega Country Club in Rome, New York.