Middlebury women’s golf finished in second place in the NESCAC championships, relinquishing their tournament-long lead to Amherst on a frigid Williamstown Sunday.
As the sun’s rays dimmed on Sunday at the beautiful Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, MA, Season Wei ’29 sank her birdie putt on 18 to pull ninth-ranked Middlebury’s women’s golf team into a tie for first place. But Amherst sophomore Mekhala Costello had other plans, jamming a two-foot birdie putt home on the short par-5 18th to give the fifth-ranked Mammoths a NESCAC win and leaving the Panthers to ponder their runner-up finish on the drive back to Middlebury.
After graduating legendary senior Audrey Tir ’25, a casual fan might have written this group off heading into the 2025-26 season. Yet this team had no plans to quit. Coming off their historic 2025 NESCAC championship title and an exceptional sixth-place finish at the NCAA championship (where they led after the first round), the Panthers leapt into the season as proven winners.
Even with the advantage of incumbency, only two golfers who played in the NESCAC championship last year participated in this year’s edition. Three new players — Wei, Julia Hua ’29 and Teegan Duffy ’28 — complemented veterans Morgan Lee ’26 and Ella Han ’27.
“We have a really strong group of freshmen — they’re charismatic, awesome people, and great golfers,” Lee said. The team’s strength has led to razor-thin margins in pre-tournament qualifying.
“We had three girls tied to play in the fifth spot during our 54-hole qualifying. They played a one-hole sudden death playoff – and [Hua] chipped in to secure the final spot.”
As with last season, the fall’s results (four consecutive fifth-place finishes) were not necessarily championship caliber. The spring has been a different story, with the Panthers steadily progressing up until NESCAC weekend. The cohesive group came into NESCACs on fire, winning the Northeast Invitational (Apr. 18-19) thanks to simultaneous +4 overall performances from Wei, Han, and Lee.
They brought serious momentum into a rainy weekend at Williams College, shooting a collective 305 on Friday to lead Amherst by three strokes. Wei kicked off her excellent tournament with a +2 finish, with five birdies and a scalding 34 (-1) on the back nine. The wind and rain proved difficult to handle for most schools, yet Middlebury’s golfers were used to dealing with extreme weather: “It doesn’t bother us much,” Lee noted.
Saturday’s round was even better, as the Panthers shot a tournament-best collective 291 (+7), the team’s best single-day score at the NESCAC championship since the tournament was founded in 2015. A respite from wintry conditions led to better scoring across every team, so their record day gave the squad a mere four-stroke lead over Amherst heading into Sunday, as Captain Lee’s score of 70 (-1) on Saturday marked her career-best tournament round.
Lee and Wei paced the Panthers, as Wei birdied the par-5 18th hole to come into the clubhouse at an even par 71. Saturday was a day of team-wide contributions — as Han’s clean scorecard (three bogeys, one birdie) provided another impressive score (+2) to the team, while Hua’s scorching-hot 35 (E) on the front nine led to a +6 77 and a slight edge over the Mammoths.
Sunday tested the Panthers’ resolve, as their lead gradually shrank until the team was tied with Amherst at +49 with three holes remaining. The Panthers were once again confronted with extreme conditions. “It was raining and sleeting all day on Sunday. It actually started to snow on my second hole,” Lee explained. “It definitely takes a toll on your mind.”
Wei double-bogeyed 17, a 200-yard par-3 playing two to three clubs into the wind. She proceeded to two-putt birdie the 18th, but Amherst’s Costello matched Wei and eked out a win for the Mammoths.
Lee expressed confidence in this squad after the heartbreaking finish. “Our underclassmen are hungry to play on weekends, and they play like it, as does everyone on this team.” The Panthers will practice throughout the week in anticipation of a potential at-large bid at the NCAA selection show next Monday, May 11.
Because of the NESCAC’s strength this year, three teams could easily get selected (Amherst’s auto-bid, plus Williams and Middlebury) to go to Palm Desert for the NCAA championship. For now, all that’s left for Middlebury women’s golf is to keep grinding and playing the great team golf they’ve demonstrated this spring.
Kanan Clifford '28.5 (he/him) is a Sports Editor.
Kanan is a probable Molecular Biology/Biochemistry major, with additional interests in history and politics. At Middlebury, he sails, is on the board of the South Asian Students Association, and is an avid baker!
