The Brown women's golf team has not missed a beat since completing a successful season last year, carrying its momentum into the first tournament of the season. This past weekend, the team placed third overall in a field of Ivy League and regional competitors at the Dartmouth Invitational at Hanover Country Club.
"Last year's progress was continued at Dartmouth," said Head Coach Danielle Griffiths. "All five team members contributed to the team score this weekend."
The young squad - led by sole upperclassman and captain Erica Farrer '13 - started the season without any apparent growing pains.
On Sunday, the team registered the second lowest round of the tournament, 304, en route to a third-place finish. Standout Stephanie Hsieh '15 was a major contributor, posting the lowest individual round of the tournament after shooting in the red with a two-under par 69. The round earned her a third place individual finish, a continuation of the scorching standard she set last year.
Hsieh was not alone atop the leaderboards. In her first collegiate tournament, Maggie Min '16, placed ninth individually after shooting 151. Michelle Chen '15 also contributed a strong performance, shooting a 160 to start off her sophomore campaign.
"We have top performers from last year, Stephanie Hsieh and Michelle Chen," Griffiths said, "plus the addition of Maggie Min from Hawaii to give depth to the team."
Rounding out the scores were Lauren Flynn '16, who shot a 163 in her first collegiate tournament, and Farrer, who shot 171.
Hsieh said she was excited about the performance of her new teammates.
"Our freshman are amazing players and have so much potential," Hsieh said. "To shoot under 80 in their first college tournaments is amazing."
"We are a young team, but with golf it doesn't matter how old or how young (you are)," Griffiths said. "It's who gets it in the hole with the least amount of strokes."
For both coach and players, the team's youth seems to be a point of potential, not weakness.
"We mesh really well together and feed off each other in a really beneficial way," Hsieh said.
But Griffiths is not ready to let her young team compete on talent alone. As was the case with last years' team, preparation will be an integral part of Griffiths' vision for the team's success.
"Our team goal for the season is the 'will to prepare' for each tournament," Griffiths said. "We take each shot one at a time and practice our putting and chipping every day to prepare to do our best as a team."
The women's golf team will take this focused preparation into its next tournament at the Yale Invitational on Sept. 21-23, visiting the home course of the Dartmouth Invitational winner.
"The third-place finish for the team was a good start to the fall season, and we will go into the Yale tournament with great momentum," Griffiths said.
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