By the time I got to the Ivy League Championship for the
women, Princeton had already learned that it was headed to the wonderful TPC
Harding Park for the NCAA San Francisco Regional.
The Tigers had earned their NCAA regional bid by capturing
the Ivy League crown for the second straight spring, this time in dramatic
fashion as they had to go to a playoff to finally pull out the title over
Harvard.
Brown actually took a three-shot lead over Princeton and
Harvard into Sunday’s final round after a pair of 19-over-par 307s over the
challenging Metedeconk National Golf Club layout, a 6,050-yard, par-72 course
in Jackson, N.J.
Princeton had gone 314 and 303 Friday and Saturday,
respectively, while Harvard went 313 and 304. Princeton, sparked by a
remarkable 3-under 69 by Ivy League Player of the Year Maya Walton, a sophomore
from Austin, Texas, and Harvard, led by individual champion Michelle Xie, a
junior from Palo Alto, Calif., each posted a final round of 6-over 294, the two
best team rounds of the weekend, to end up tied at 911.
Pretty amazing two teams can take 911 shots each and end up
tied, but that’s how it played out.
The teams took their top four players out to the ninth hole
at Metedeconk and Princeton responded with birdies by Tenley Shield, a senior
from Grosse Pointe, Mich., and Amber Wang, a junior from Sugar Land, Texas and
pars by Walton and Annabelle Chang, a freshman from Walnut., Calif. to easily
win the playoff.
Chang was Princeton’s top finisher in regulation, claiming
runnerup honors at 8-over 224, four shots behind Xie, after a clutch final
round of 1-over 73.
Nobody was more clutch than Walton, though. She struggled through
rounds of 79 and 78 the first two days of the championship before recording the
only sub-70 round of the tournament. Her 3-under 69 enabled her to surge into a
tie for fifth in the final standings at 10-over 226.
Wang finished in the group tied for 10th at 231
after a final-round 78, but her even-par 72 in Saturday’s middle round helped keep the Tigers in the
hunt. Shield added a final-round 79 to a pair of 78s to finish in the group
tied for 19th at 235.
Tiana Lau, a junior from Hong Kong, wasn’t sent out for the
playoff, but she had as much to do with there even being a playoff as anyone.
Lau didn’t break 80 the first two days around Metedeconk with rounds of 82 and
80. But her final round of 2-over 74 was a crucial counter for Princeton. Let’s
face it, when you end up in a tie for first, every single shot mattered Sunday.
Xie opened with a 77, then added a 1-under 71 before
matching par in the final round with a 72 for a 4-over 220 as she cruised to
the individual title by four shots.
Belinda Hu backed up Xie for Harvard as she shared fifth
place with Princeton’s Walton at 226 after a
final round of 2-over 74.
Also for the Crimson, Jessica Luo, a freshman from San Jose,
Calif., finished in the group tied for 17th at 234 after a final-round
of 78. Lita Guo, a senior from New Zealand, finished in the group tied for 19th
at 235 and Anna Zhou, a junior from Palo Alto, Calif., finished alone in 22nd
at 237, but both contributed 2-over 74s in the final round that proved to be
crucial counters.
Brown’s Brittany Park, a freshman from Fullerton, Calif.,
and Yale’s Jennifer Peng, a senior from Highland Park, N.J., shared third place
at 9-over 225, a shot behind Chang. Park finished up with a 4-over 76 and Peng
carded a 3-over 75 in the final round.
Columbia’s Nancy Xu, a senior from Sunnyvale, Calif., and
Brown’s Naomi Lee, a freshman from Menlo Park, Calif., finished tied for seventh,
a shot behind Walton and Hu at 227. Both finished up with a solid 3-over 75.
It was a disappointing weekend for Penn. Rina Jung, a
freshman from Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., led the way for the Quakers as she
finished in the group tied for 15th at 233 after carding a 5-over 77
in the final round.
Christina Park, a sophomore from San Diego, and Tiffany Yau,
a senior from Porter Ranch, Calif., finished among the group tied for 26th at
241. Park posted a 4-over 76 in the final round while Yau finished up with a
78.
Michelle Yom, a senior from Torrance, Calif., finished tied
for 29th after a final-round 76 and Selina Zeng rounded out the Penn
lineup by finishing alone in 34th at 251 after a final-round 86.
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