Women's Golf Team Blazes Trail with Home Win

Author: Peter Yord·n

Someone should tell the Middlebury women's golf team that winning isn't supposed to be easy. The rookie team, in its first ever home invitational, waltzed away with the tournament victory, its second win in as many weeks. Despite having been in existence for less than a month, the squad has already made a move to consolidate its place as one of the top golf programs in New England.

On the heels of a dominant opening performance at Williams the week before, the Panthers returned to the friendly surroundings of the Duke Nelson Golf Center to play host to teams from NESCAC rivals Bates, Bowdoin and Williams. "It was exciting to play at home," said Kerry Ortega '07. "It was nice to have the feeling of having home-field advantage. We knew the course and the ins and outs of the greens." The team quickly set about converting their local knowledge into results. Heather Gallagher '07 once again paced the entire field with a well-earned 81. Kerry Ortega threw down an imposing 83, while her twin sister Allison clocked in with an 87. Sally Hartman '06 shaved eight strokes off her last score with an 89, and elder statesman Emily Lord '04 rounded out the scoreline with a 93.

Middlebury proved ungracious hosts, once again hoarding the leaderboard and the tournament silverware. "I think everyone has been working really hard and everybody has been able to post low scores just through sheer hard work," said Kerry Ortega. "As a team everybody has been really supportive of one another." The team's work has paid off far beyond expectations. Two tournaments into the season they have proved untouchable. Despite the group posting higher team scores this weekend than the previous one, none of the Panthers opponents have been able to seriously challenge them. Sterner tests to the team's mettle loom on the horizon, however. On Oct. 4 the team will travel down to Wellesley College for a two-day tournament, and the following week they will close out the fall season with a final visit to Williams. "We've played very solidly the last two times, now we have two weeks to practice and work on our game," said Gallagher. "In the next tournaments the competition will be better so we will probably have to play a little better than last time to win."

The Panthers are fully aware of the fast pace they have set for themselves iand are not looking to give up any ground. "I think we definitely have a lot of depth," said Ortega. "On any given day we could have four or five players who could post our lowest score. I feel we are definitely setting a good example for future teams."