Crimson Takes Three of Top Five Spots in Victory

After the first day of play at the season-opening Dartmouth Invitational, the Harvard women’s golf team found itself in the unfamiliar and unpleasant position of third place. However, a strong Sunday allowed the Crimson to take victory in the tournament for the third year in a row.

In the end, it was comfortable for Harvard (314-302-616), as the team led the second round by 15 strokes, easily moving ahead of Ancient Eight rivals Dartmouth and Brown.

The Crimson went into Hanover as the favorites in the 17-team field. Coming off of its first-ever Ivy crown, Harvard was looking to start the year on a good note. But an opening round of 314 on Saturday was seemingly the opposite. The disappointing round saw the Crimson behind both Dartmouth (308-317-625) and Brown (311-318-629) heading into Sunday.

“Losing on Saturday put us in our place a bit,” junior Sarah Harvey (79-78-157) said.

Like all good teams, however, Harvard was able to bounce back. A brief rain delay only postponed the inevitable, as every Crimson player competing for the team bettered her first-round score. Captain Ali Bode (77-74-151) finished in fourth, and junior Claire Sheldon (79-73-152) fifth.

“We were afraid we were going to get rained out [and finish in third], so when we got to play, we were really excited about having the opportunity to show we were the best team there,” Harvey said.

“We certainly don’t panic after the first day,” Harvard coach Kevin Rhoads said of his team’s tendency to get off to slow starts. “They usually lift their games.”

Perhaps the brightest note on the opening weekend was the play of freshman Christine Cho, who competed individually in the tournament. In her first collegiate competition, Cho (73-75-148) finished second overall.

“It’s just a sign of what she’s going to contribute this year,” Rhoads said of Cho’s performance.

While her teammates struggled on Saturday, Cho tore up the course with a round of 73. After another solid round yesterday, Cho ended regulation play tied for first. She parred the playoff hole, but her opponent, Katelynn Mannix of Siena College, made birdie to take the individual crown.

After her great performance, Cho noted her teammates’ support during the start of her college career.

“They followed me in the playoff and were cheering for me all the way,” Cho said. “It was really amazing.”

As usual for Harvard, though, the win was a team effort. Every Crimson player finished the tournament in the top 20 overall. Following Cho, Bode, and Sheldon were senior Emily Balmert (79-77-156) in 11th, Harvey in 15th, and sophomore Mia Kabasakalis (81-80-161) in 20th.

“We all knew we didn’t bring our A-games Saturday,” Bode said. “We took it shot by shot Sunday and played much better because of it.”

“Getting a win to start is a great building block,” Rhoads said.

Harvard enters the season with very high expectations. A dominant display in the Ivy League championships last spring placed the Crimson atop the League for the first time, a feat Harvard appears capable of repeating.

“I am confident in our level this year in terms of what we are capable of,” Rhoads said. “We put everything together last year when we needed to, so we need to work hard and stay focused to get back to that spot again.”

On Saturday and Sunday, Harvard will play in the Princeton Invitational in what should be a difficult test. The Crimson has never beaten Princeton at its home course.

“We have to continue to build from last year,” Bode said.

Next weekend will serve as the first real test as to whether that will happen.

—Staff writer Jay M. Cohen can be reached at jaycohen@fas.harvard.edu.