Fatigue Plays Role in Crimson’s Ninth-Place Finish

The Harvard women’s golf team’s victorious streak came to an abrupt stop this weekend at the 35th Annual Nittany Lion Women’s Invitational Tournament.

After winning the previous two tournaments, the Crimson tied for ninth place with Ivy rival Yale. The team finished the two rounds at +48 on the par-72 Blue Course in State College, Pa. Fifteen schools competed in the tournament.

“It was a tough weekend, coming off of what we’ve done the first two weeks,” Harvard coach Kevin Rhoads said. “Expectations are going to be high with every tournament you play after that, and it’s hard to be consistently great.”

“This weekend was definitely a struggle for us,” freshman Tiffany Lim added.

Overall, there were little problems that became magnified throughout the tournament: an early ending, the weather, and putting trouble.

Round three was cancelled early Sunday morning, ending the tournament and Harvard’s chances to narrow the gap between it and the leaders. Rain all weekend made the greens flooded in parts and muddy in others.

“We were starting to play with low form, and to make it worse, we didn’t have a chance to make up any ground after the first day,” Rhoads said about the cancelled third round.

The scores from the first two rounds were then finalized (315-309), cementing the Crimson’s standing outside the winner’s circle, a place unfamiliar to the squad this season.

“To finish in the middle of the field was disappointing,” Rhoads said. “We didn’t play well either round.”

The poor conditions and the lack of practice really got to Harvard.

“The first days were cold and rainy,” Lim explained. “It’s just not a ton of fun in the cold rain.”

The women played in 30 and 40 degree weather throughout the weekend. Not only was the team plagued by the rain and cold, but the course also suffered.

The Blue Course, one of Penn State’s challenging greens, has green-side bunkers and fairway bunkers, with water hazards to complicate it.

“The course was saturated,” Rhoads said. “You have to stay mentally strong and muddle your way through the day.”

“It took a lot longer than usual because of the conditions,” added sophomore Bonnie Hu, who is also a member of the Crimson business board.

Friday was a rough start for Harvard, accumulating 315 strokes collectively, with Longwood leading the competition at 294. This set the Crimson at eighth place, an unfamiliar spot for Harvard.

“The second day, we improved as a team,” Hu said. “We were motivated because of our poor first round, and we knew what to expect more with the conditions.”

After the second round on Saturday, Eastern Michigan pulled ahead and won with +21 for the tournament, with Longwood and host Penn State tied for second. Harvard moved down from eighth to ninth place after the second day. The Crimson improved on strokes in day two, but couldn’t make up for the disappointing first day on the course.

“I think it was a combination of not enough practice and fatigue,” Lim said. “That made everybody’s performance a little bit [worse], and those tiny differences will add up.”

Individually, the Harvard golfers didn’t have weekends as great as they did the past two tournaments. Lim finished in a five-way tie for 15th place, +7 for the two rounds. Behind her were sophomore Bonnie Hu in 27th, freshman Brenna Nelsen in 48th, senior Jane Lee in 53rd, and sophomore Julie MacDonnell in 80th.

“I didn’t have a great short game,” Lim said. “That’s where I normally shoot small numbers.”

“If we were making some putts, they easily could have put us in the low 70s or low score of the day,” Rhoads added.

The Crimson will practice putting, chipping, and swings to get back into the winner’s circle.

Despite the loss, Harvard has a lot to look forward to. Tying with Yale and beating the other Ivy in the tournament, Columbia, means that the squad is still performing well in its league. Plus, they have the next week off after playing three tournaments in a row.

“With a weekend off, we need a little bit of rest, make sure we are caught up on school, and have some extra preparation,” Rhoads said.

Based on this weekend’s tournament, the team will look to improve all around.

The Crimson will take advantage of home-course advantage as it prepares for the Harvard Invitational at the Boston Golf Club.

“From now until then, we will try to get as much practice as possible to get familiar with the course,” Hu said.

“I think that after this, we are more committed in what we are doing,” Lim said. “We struggled through this tournament, but learned that we can pick ourselves up.”

—Staff writer Emily Rutter can be reached at erutter@college.harvard.edu.