W. Golf Places Sixth At Sunny Rutgers Tourney

While competing at the Rutgers Invitational this weekend, the Harvard women’s golf team met with a very unfamiliar sight—the sun.

“I think this is my first tournament without rain in over a year,” captain Merry Chiampa said. “I might be exaggerating, but I can’t think of any. It was nice to see.”

Taking advantage of the sunny conditions, the Crimson carded a 323-330—653 to finish sixth in the 16-team field.

Despite playing from tees that had been moved back since her freshman year, Chiampa noted that Rutgers’ course was still very straightforward and was much easier than Harvard’s practice course.

“We felt a little pressure to do well because the course wasn’t as difficult as some of the others that we have played on,” freshman Jacqueline Rooney said.

The Crimson was paced by junior J.J. Kang, who shot an opening-round 75, which put her fourth among 84 competitors entering Saturday. Kang rounded out her tournament with an 80 to finish with a 155, good for a tie for sixth place.

“We’re really happy for J.J.,” Rooney said. “We can count on her to be consistent and shoot low scores.”

Rooney also earned praise from her teammates. After having her team-low 87 dropped on Friday, she bounced back to record an 82, second only to Kang among Harvard players.

“It’s tough coming in as a freshman,” Chiampa said. “You want to play well for the team. She obviously [came through] for us this time.”

Chiampa (80-83—163), junior Carrie Baizer (84-85—169) and sophomore Jennifer Cronan (84-89—173) rounded out Harvard’s scoring. Every member of the team finished in the top 50.

Although there wasn’t much rain this time around, the team was not entirely free from the clutches of Mother Nature.

“We had to play in 40-degree weather, which is always tough,” said Chiampa. “You’re wearing multiple layers, which impedes your swing.”

While both Chiampa and Rooney noted that the Crimson could have played better and that there is still a lot of work to do, the players are satisfied with their efforts this weekend.

“When the round is done, you can only think about what to improve for next time,” Rooney said. “You can’t wish [to change what you’ve already done].”