Crimson Closes Season With Win at ECACs

The Harvard women’s golf team ended its fall season victoriously this weekend at the ECAC Division I Championships at the Ballymeade Country Club in Falmouth, Mass. Despite tough weather conditions, the Crimson led the field of 10 teams both Saturday and yesterday.

Temperatures in the forties made it difficult for the golfers to perform at their best. Besides the physical setbacks—cold hands and bulky clothing—the golfers had to worry about golf balls sailing shorter distances and about struggling on tougher greens.

The course was in good condition, however, and Harvard was able to use the layout, which favors straight hitting, to its advantage.

The Crimson dominated Saturday’s competition—Harvard golfers occupied the top five individual spots and the Crimson’s total of 321 led the team competition by 24 strokes. Freshman duo Ali Bode and Emily Balmert placed first and second after 18 holes, with scores of 79 and 80 respectively. Captain Jen Cronan and junior Jacqueline Rooney were one stroke behind them with a score of 81. Sophomore Jessica Hazlett rounded out the Crimson contingent with an 82 and a fifth-place finish.

Yesterday, the rain held out, but windier conditions made the course significantly more difficult than on Saturday. Harvard was not able to continue its habit of outperforming itself on the second day, but managed to hold onto its lead. Bode and Hazlett both shot 82, allowing Bode to maintain her first-place position and bumping Hazlett into the number two slot. Cronan and Balmert shot in the 80s as well. Along with Rooney, they finished in the top 10 individually. The Crimson’s cumulative team score of 650 was 15 strokes lower than second-place University of Hartford.

Harvard will return to the Ballymeade Country Club in April for the Ivy League Championships, where it hopes to repeat this weekend’s success.

The Crimson will resume competition in the spring with the Brown Invitational on April 8.

—ELYSE N. HANSON