Despite disappointing finishes last year, the men's and women's golf teams entered this season with high expectations. The men's team has already turned the corner on last year's season by posting its lowest score in school history at the Navy Invitational last weekend.
Though both teams seemed to sputter down the stretch in the spring season — with the men finishing seventh and the women sixth at the Ivy League Championship last spring — both hope to bounce back this season.
Strong first-years
The women's team is looking forward to strong play from its first-years. Anchored by the senior trio of captain Megan Tuohy '12, Carly Arison '12 and Heather Arison '12, some of the new class will be expected to compete immediately.
"We have a strong freshman class coming in this year, and that — in addition to the experience on this team — will be exciting to watch," Carly Arison said.
The new class of recruits features four new players — Cassandra Carothers '15, Michelle Chen '15, Kanika Gandhi '15 and Stephanie Hsieh '15.
Following a round of qualifying play this weekend, the women's team looks poised to start off its season well at the Yale Intercollegiate Sept. 17 and 18.
Last season, the team was competitive in every competition during the season and won the Northern Illinois Invitational.
Setting a record
"I have great confidence in our team this year. There is more depth and a lot of talent," said men's Head Coach Michael Hughes, referring to the strong group of underclassmen who will be expected to step in immediately. In his sixth year as head coach, Hughes said his team is taking the final steps in a transition to be competitive against top-tier teams.
Led by the experience of captain J.D. Ardell '13 and Jack Mylott '13, the team returns a roster filled with more experience than the untried team of last year. Peter Callas '14 and Kyohei Itamura '14 also add depth to a talented team. But there is one name missing from the scorecard this year that will be sorely missed: former captain Michael Amato '11.
Hughes' lofty expectations for the men's team were immediately realized this weekend. The team recorded Brown's lowest round ever, a combined 283 strokes, shattering the previous record by 11 shots.
"I didn't think we would play this well so quickly," he said. "We're compounding good shots with good shots instead of our rounds falling apart."
The performances of Justin Miller '15 and Itamura highlighted the round. The teammates were in the red for the day, carding respective scores of two-under and one-under par.
The weekend was a show of resilience for a team that, in the past, seemed to crumble when things went wrong, Ardell said. A poor round on Saturday could have ended in a discouraging start for the squad, but the team instead rebounded and ended the weekend on a high note.
"It has been a while since we've hopped on the plane and felt we performed well," Ardell said.
The team is performing up to its potential, but it will be facing off against stiff competition Sept. 19 and 20 at the Adams Cup of Newport, where it will match up against some of the premier programs in the country, including the University of Georgia and Texas Tech University.
"There are no excuses now," Hughes said. "This team is not a pushover."
