Lees finishes tied for 10th in Dartmouth Invitational in her Dartmouth debut

   Kaitlyn Lees, winner of the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship three of the last four years, finished tied for 10^th in her college debut this weekend for Dartmouth, which hosted the Dartmouth Invitational at Hanover Country Club in Hanover, N.H.

   Lees, who won three Inter-Ac League individual titles at Agnes Irwin, started off with a 1-over-par 73 in Saturday’s opening round over the 5,826-yard, par-72 Hanover layout. Lees, who plays out of Philadelphia Country Club and Merion Golf Club, added a 2-over 74 Sunday to get a top-10 finish at 3-over 147.

   Lees helped the Big Green finish third in the team standings as they opened with a 10-over 298 before adding a 300 in Sunday’s final round for a 22-over 298 total.

   Albany, the reigning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion, captured the team title as the Great Danes posted a team-record 1-over 289 in the opening round and added a solid 3-over 291 in Sunday’s final round for a 4-over 580 total.

   Harvard, a perennial Ivy League contender, was the runnerup as the Crimson opened with a 296 and added a 290 that was the low team round Sunday for a 10-over 586 total.

   Hartford finished a shot behind Dartmouth in fourth at 599 after adding a 299 to its opening-round 300. Albany’s cross-town rival Siena took fifth in the 15-team field at 605. The Saints opened with a 298 before falling back a little with a 307 in Sunday’s final round.

   Madison Walker, a freshman from Bermuda Dunes, Calif., led the way for Albany as she was the runnerup in the individual standings with a 5-under 139 that left her two shots behind individual champion Ami Gianchandini, a freshman at Yale out of Short Hills, N.J. and The Pingry School. Walker opened with a 3-under 69 and added a 2-under 70 in Sunday’s final round.

   Megan Henry, a junior from England, finished alone in fifth at 1-under 143. Henry opened with a program-record 4-under 68 before backing off with a 75. Helga Einarsdottir, a junior from Iceland, gave the Great Danes a third top-six finisher as she got a piece of sixth place with an even-par 144 total. Einarsdottir improved off an opening-round 74 with a 2-under 70 in Sunday’s final round.

   Caroline Juillat, a junior from France, finished in the group tied for 34^th at 154 as she added a 76 to her opening-round 78. Pasquali Tartaglione, a freshman from Pine Bush, N.Y., was a shot behind Juillat in the group tied for 37^th at 155. Tartaglione opened with a 78 before posting a final-round 77.

   Annika Espino, a junior from Honolulu, Hawaii, finished among the group tied for 49^th at 158 as she added a 77 to her opening-round 81. Can’t tell which five comprised the starting lineup for Albany or if the Dartmouth Invitational allowed team to score the top four from six players as opposed to the usual five.

   Lees is just one of the talented freshmen who be shaking things up in the Ivy League this season.

   Gianchandini fired a startling 6-under 66 in Sunday’s final round after opening with a 1-under 71 to account for her 7-under 137 total.

   Two summers ago Gianchandini stunned Patty Tavatanakit, 1-up, in the round of 16 in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship at Boone Valley Golf Club in Augusta, Mo. Tavatanakit, a native of Thailand, begins her sophomore season at UCLA as the No. 8 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

   Harvard freshman Elizabeth Wang of San Marino, Calif., who finished tied for third at 3-under 141 in the Dartmouth Invitational, did Gianchandini one better at last month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at the Golf Club of Tennessee. Wang stunned the No. 1 player in the Women’s WAGR, Wake Forest senior and reigning NCAA champion Jennifer Kupcho, in the opening round of match play.

   It took 20 holes for Big Ten champion Jaclyn Lee, a senior at Ohio State from Canada, to take out Wang in the round of 16 at the Golf Club of Tennessee.

   Wang opened with a 3-under 69 before adding an even-par 72 in Sunday’s final round.

   Wang shared third place with Siena’s Sara Riso, a senior from Hamburg, N.Y. who seized the opening-round lead with a sparkling 6-under 66 before backing off with a 3-over 75 in Sunday's final round.

   Another Yale freshman, Coco Chai of China, shared sixth place with Albany’s Einarsdottir at even-par 144. Chai added a 1-under 71 to her opening-round 73.

   Backing up Lees for Dartmouth was another freshman, Kristen Chen of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Kristin Soh, a junior from Los Angeles, both of whom ended up in the group tied for 14^th at 5-over 149. Chen added a 75 to her opening-round 74 and Soh opened with a 1-over 73 before finishing up with a 76.

   Dartmouth’s senior leader, Catharine Roddy of Trabuco, Calif., gave the Big Green a fourth top-20 finisher as she finished in the group tied for 20^th at 150. Roddy matched Lees for Dartmouth’s low round in Sunday’s wrapup with a 2-over 74 after she opened with a 76.

   Rounding out the Dartmouth lineup was Julianne Strauch, a sophomore from Advance, N.C. who joined the group tied for 25^th at 152 after she carded a pair of 76s.