SEASON RECAP: Women's Golf

In a sport that can fluctuate more often than New England weather, the Harvard women’s golf team saw its fair share of ups and downs this season. Still, the team ended on a high note that looks like it will carry on into next season.

The Crimson squad endured a great deal of reshaping this year, gaining three freshman recruits who more than proved their worth. Katie Loncke was Harvard’s lowest scorer in three of the team’s eight tournaments, winning two individual medals.

“Katie is a phenomenal golfer,” captain Carrie Baizer said. “She had an incredible season.”

The Crimson also had to adjust to a new coach, former professional player Kevin Rhoads, whom Baizer calls “the best coach I could ever hope for.”

Rhoads led Harvard to three first-place and three third-place finishes, a substantial improvement over the previous season’s record, which was highlighted by only one first-place finish.

After beginning the season with two third-place finishes at the Dartmouth and Princeton Invitationals, the squad suffered at the Yale Invitational, placing eighth. The Crimson quickly recuperated to come in third at the Bucknell Fall Classic, where the team was paced by Loncke, who won the tournament.

Harvard began its spring season with a tri-match against Dartmouth and Brown. Junior Jennifer Cronan, next year’s captain, rejoined the team after a semester abroad and helped the Crimson place first. With Loncke finishing in first place, Cronan in third, senior J.J. Kang in fifth, freshman Debbi Amanti in ninth, sophomore Erin Wilson in 10th, Baizer in 11th, and freshman Jessica Hazlett in 14th, the team broke Harvard’s record for 36 holes. The team’s total of 634 beat the previous record by 10 strokes.

After such a strong performance, the team entered the Ivy League Championships the following weekend with high hopes.

“We thought we had a good shot at Ivies,” Amanti said. “We thought we even might be able to win it.”

The Ivy League Championships were played on a difficult course at the Maidstone Golf Club. The course borders the ocean, and the combination of the sea breeze and the inclement weather made conditions unbearable. Harvard struggled through the two-day event, placing sixth in a field of seven.

The Crimson did not let the poor performance extend any further. The next weekend it ended its season with twin victories at the Massachusetts State Championships and the Northeast Championships. Rhoads credited strong leadership from the team’s seniors as the key to increasing the team’s morale.

“We had suffered the weekend before but were still able to win—it doesn’t get much better than that,” Rhoads said.

At the Massachusetts Championships, Baizer tied for first place and Loncke, one stroke behind her, placed third. Two days later, at the Northeast Championships, Cronan won the individual medal in a field of 66 golfers, contributing to the Crimson’s first-place finish.

The departure of seniors Kang and Baizer, solid players on the course and excellent leaders off of it, will be hard for Harvard to overcome, but with new recruits coming in and the return of an injured teammate, sophomore Jacquie Rooney, the team is optimistic for next season.

“There’s a lot to look forward to for the team,” Baizer said.

—Staff writer Elyse N. Hanson can be reached at ehanson@fas.harvard.edu.