by Ivy Milne
The Central Connecticut women’s golf team traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia last week to participate in the Kingsmill Intercollegiate Invitational, hosted by the College of William and Mary.
The first two rounds were played on Monday, which put the team in 11th place going into day two. Freshman Olivia Gardenhour shot a total of 151 for her first two rounds, tied for 11th place at the end of the first day.
Freshman Meghan McLean and Senior Tara Whalen also put a strong foot forward the first day. McLean, shooting a 75 and 80, sat in a tie for 24th place, while Whalen, who shot 78 and 81, was able to tie for 40th.
Whalen described the Kingsmill Resort-River Course as a “long and hilly course.” However, that surely didn’t stop the team from performing their best.
This wasn’t the only obstacle thrown at them. Whalen discussed how the weather had a major impact on the tournament.
“It rained the whole time and was very windy, which made the conditions tough,” Whalen said.
Going into day two right behind fellow Northeast Conference competitor Sacred Heart University, the Blue Devils finished strong in the third and final round. Gardenhour, with a 227 (+11), finished the invitational tied for fifth place overall after shooting an impressive 76 in the final round.
Mclean and Whalen also had strong results at the end of the two-day tournament, scoring a 238 (+22) and a 247 overall, respectively. The team finished the tournament in 11th place, maintaining their standing from day one.
There were 17 teams that participated Monday into Tuesday, five of which belong to the NEC. Among these five teams, Central finished second.
“FDU was the only one that finished ahead of us, which is good as we prepare for the NEC Championship next month,” head coach Jackie Beck said.
After the two days of play, Beck said “there were a lot of positives from [their] performance at Kingsmill. We are hitting the ball well, but are working on our short game to score.”
She is confident that “once the courses open here, we [Central] will be able to get that touch back pretty quickly.”
The team has two more tournaments scheduled in April before they head off to Daytona Beach, Florida, at the end of the month, where they will compete for the title of NEC champions.
