Maybe Kaitlyn Lees, an Agnes Irwin product and three-time
winner of the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship, was a little too excited
to be playing golf on God’s green earth in Florida instead of swinging a club in
a simulator in Hanover, N.H.
Lees, the Inter-Ac League’s best player for the last six
years, began the second half of her freshman season at Dartmouth with an
uncharacteristic 85 in the opening round of the Florida Atlantic Winter Warmup,
which concluded on Presidents Day at Osprey Point Golf Club in Boca Raton, Fla.
But Lees, who plays out of Philadelphia Country Club and
Merion Golf Club, recovered quickly, carding a 3-over-par 75 Monday over the
6,062-yard, par-72 Osprey Point layout and was one of three Big Green players
who finished tied for 30th in the individual standings at 16-over
160.
Tennessee, No. 37 in the latest Golfstat rankings, had all five players in its lineup in the top 10
as the Volunteers dominated on their way to the team title with a 17-under 559
total for the 36-hole event that was a whopping 41 shots clear of runnerup
Florida Atlantic, the tournament host.
Tennessee, behind individual champion Mariah Smith, a
sophomore from Clarksville, Tenn., fired a sparkling 12-under 276 in Sunday’s
opening round and added a 5-under 283 in Monday’s final round.
Florida Atlantic added a 9-over 297 to its opening-round 303
to finish second at 24-over 600. Oakland was another eight shots behind Florida
Atlantic in third at 32-over 608 after adding a 300 to its opening-round 308.
Alex Kirk’s Big Green finished behind their two Ivy League rivals in the field at Osprey Point.
Brown finished fourth, three shots behind Oakland at 611
after shaving 11 shots off its opening-round 311 with a closing 300. Columbia
trailed Dartmouth by five after an opening-round 317, but the Lions rallied for
a 303 in the second round to finish fifth at 620, nine shots behind Brown.
Dartmouth was two shots behind Columbia in sixth at 622
after adding a 310 to its opening-round 312. Detroit Mercy was last in the
field of seven at 642 after a final-round 316.
In claiming her first career tournament win, Smith had to
hold off two of her Tennessee teammates. Smith opened with a career-low 5-under
67, the best individual round of the tournament, and closed with a 2-under 70
for a 7-under 137 total.
Teammates Waverly Whiston, a sophomore from San Diego, and
Michaela Williams, a junior from Athens, Ala., shared second place, a shot
behind Smith at 6-under 138. Whiston closed with the low round of the day
Monday, a 4-under 68, after opening with a 70 while Williams carded a second
consecutive 3-under 69.
Backing up the top three for Tennessee was Ariana Macioce, a
senior from Phoenix who finished in a tie for seventh at 4-over 148. Macioce
opened with a solid 2-under 70 before backing off with a 78 Monday.
Mikayla Bardwell, a freshman from Lewisville, Texas, gave
the Volunteers five players inside the top 10 as she finished tied for ninth at
6-over 150 after adding a 76 to her opening-round 74.
Obviously, Tennessee has a nice team. One of the Volunteers’
problems is that six SEC teams are among the top 16 in the Golfstat rankings. Tennessee received a bid to the NCAA Tallahassee
Regional last spring and would seem to be a pretty good bet to earn a regional
nod again this season.
Florida Atlantic’s Tai Barber, a senior from Grapevine,
Texas, was the only non-Tennessee player to finish under par as she ended up
alone in fourth at 3-under 141, three shots behind Whiston and Williams. Barber
added a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 71.
Two Oakland players, Maddie Zack, a senior from Poway,
Calif., and Veronica Haque, a sophomore from Rochester Hills, Mich., finished
tied for fifth at 3-over 147. Both players opened with a 2-over 74 and closed
with a 1-over 73.
Dartmouth was led by Moon Cheong, a sophomore from
Charlotte, N.C., who shared seventh place with Tennessee’s Macioce at 4-over
148. Cheong opened with a 1-over 73 before finishing up with a 3-over 75.
Lees was joined in the group tied for 30th at 160
by Dartmouth teammates Katharine Roddy, a senior co-captain from Trabuco
Canyon, Calif., and Maddie Nelson, a junior from Sammamish, Wash. Roddy carded
a pair of 80s while Nelson opened with a solid 78 before falling back a little
with a closing 82.
Kristen Chen, a freshman from Thousand Oaks, Calif., rounded
out the Dartmouth lineup as she finished among the group tied for 34th
at 161 after adding an 80 to her opening-round 81.
Lees and Chen, the two freshmen, were the leading ladies for
Dartmouth during the fall season. Lees averaged a team-best 76.4 and Chen was
second at 78.0. It will be interesting to see how the Big Green develops as
they move toward the Ivy League Championship, which tees off April 19 at The
Ridge at Back Brook in Ringoes, N.J.
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