W. Golf opens with last-place finish

The Penn women's golf team faced its first competition of the season this weekend, placing last in a field of 19 teams at the William and Mary Invitational in Williamsburg, Va. The Quakers recorded a two-day total of 735, opening the tournament with a 359 in Friday's first-round action. With rain threatening to hinder Saturday morning's 9:00 a.m. shotgun start, the field played on, managing to get in a full 18 holes despite the weather. The Quakers shot a 376 on Saturday to complete the tournament. Penn sophomore Stacy Kress fared best among the Quakers. An All-Ivy selection as a freshman, Kress finished in 67th place overall with a team-high two-day score of 174 (84-90). Kress also had the team high score in last year's tournament with a 166 (84-82). Penn freshman Laura Dolan finished 83rd with a score of 185 (91-94), while senior Jen Schraut and freshman Valerie Wong tied for 89th with identical scores of 188. Notre Dame won the tournament championship with a two-day total of 626. The Irish out-distanced tournament host William and Mary by five strokes and first-round co-leader Elon College by six on the 5,821-yard, par-71 Ford's Colony Country Club course. For the Red and Blue, a repeat last-place finish was not the result the team would have hoped for in its first tournament of the spring. However, the Quakers were able to make substantial improvements on their performance in last year's tournament. They beat last year's team score by 77 shots, and their margin of defeat was a much-improved 109 strokes in this year's tournament, as compared to 200 shots in last year's event. "Over the last few tournaments, we have been constantly improving on our team score," Wong said. For such a young Penn program, the coaches and players are setting the team's goals based on progress, not team scores or tournament finishes. "We want to improve our games individually and as a team," Kress said. This type of attitude has given the players a real sense of optimism and dedication to improving their individual golf games. "They are diligent about practice habits and steadfast about improving," Penn coach Francis Vaughn said. "They are doing the right things [to improve their games]." Next up for the Quakers will be another trip to Virginia, as they will compete in the James Madison Invitational on April 7-8. After that, the Red and Blue will cap off their season with the Ivy League Championship on April 21-22.

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