Men’s

Behind a breakout performance from sophomore Jarvis Sill, the men’s golf team finished sixth at the Williams Spring Invitational last weekend.

Played at the Taconic Golf Club, cold and windy conditions prevailed in Williamstown. The par 71 course played very tough, as no player broke par on either day. The low score on Saturday was a 4-over 75, though the course was even harder on Sunday with the low posted at a 6-over 77.

Sill, though, was unfazed by the conditions. Building off a top-10 finish two weeks ago, the sophomore shot a two-day total of 152 to win the individual tournament title, the first victory of his collegiate career.

Sill opened the weekend with a solid 4-over par 75 to tie with Hamilton’s Matt Yung for the lead heading into Sunday’s play. Facing even rougher conditions in the final round, Sill was the more consistent player down the stretch, carding a final-round 77 to earn a two-stroke victory.

Unfortunately for the Jeffs, the rest of the team was not able to match Sill’s pace. Only first-year James Line was able to card a round under 80, shooting a final-round 79 for a two-day total of 166. It was a respectable performance from the rookie, as he finished in the top-20 individuals.

Notable as well was the effort from Nicholas Koh ’14, the Jeffs’ top performer in the fall, who played in his first tournament of the spring season. He carded a two-day total of 170 to finish two strokes behind Line.

Behind their strong performances, Amherst was able to finish ahead of Bowdoin and Wesleyan by a comfortable margin. Although the sixth place finish was not ideal, the result was deceptively poor as the Jeffs’ two-day total of 654 was only 10 shots back of the second place team. The Jeffs will certainly look to make up that deficit moving forward.

With that goal in mind, the Jeffs return to the course for their season finale on Wednesday, hosting the Little III Championship at the Hickory Ridge Golf Club. After a successful spring season with an emphasis on underclassmen growth and maturation, the team will look to put all the pieces together and finish with a strong showing against their Little III rivals.

Women’s

Led by individual runner-up Liz Monty ’13, the Women’s Golf team took fifth place out of twelve teams at the Jack Leaman Invitational this past weekend.

In their only home event of the season, the Lady Jeffs built on an already successful spring season, placing in the top-five for the third consecutive tournament. With one event remaining before postseason play, the team is rounding into form nicely in preparation for the NCAA Championships in mid-May.

The weekend’s two-day event was split between two venues. Saturday’s opening round was hosted by the Hickory Ridge Golf Club, a 5,895-yard, par 74 course with the teams moving to Orchards Golf Club for the final round, a par 72 course measuring 5,880 yards.

Amid windy conditions on Saturday, the Jeffs still managed to get off to a strong start. All five of the Jeffs’ scorers carded rounds in the 80s with Monty shooting a 6-over par 80 to tie for fifth place.

First-year Devyn Gardner also played well, building on a strong performance from a week ago, to card a respectable 9-over 85. Fellow rookie Jenny Xu ’16 posted an impressive round in her own right, finishing one stroke behind Gardner with an 86.

Unfortunately for the Jeffs, only Monty was able to improve her score on Sunday. The senior shot a solid 5-over par 77 to move into second place individually, marking her best finish of the spring. Monty has been on fire in her last collegiate season, finishing among the top three competitors at all three spring events.

Behind Monty, Kristen Lee ’14 picked up the slack for Amherst, shaving four strokes off her opening-round score for a two-day total of 172 (88-84). Finishing one stroke behind Lee, Gardner and Irene Hickey ’13 posted respectable scores of 173, while Xu rounded out Amherst’s scoring with a 176.

After posting an opening-round total of 339, the Jeffs improved five strokes between rounds to finish the tournament on a solid note. With impressive performances from their younger players, the team is certainly on the rise and will look to continue improving in the season’s final weeks.

Next weekend, Amherst closes out regular season play as the team travels to Williamstown to compete in the Williams Spring Invitational.