Amherst women’s golf came out with a strong tournament win in its season opener this past weekend. The team competed in the Ann S. Batchelder Invitational, hosted by Wellesley College, and captured its first team title in the tournament’s nine years of operation. Amherst also took the top two spots on the podium with first-year Morgan Yurosek earning first place and senior captain Jamie Gracie coming in second.
The invitational was played on the par 72 Nehoiden Golf Course. As a team, Amherst posted a score of 307 on Saturday and 309 on Sunday to complete the weekend with a team score of 616. All five golfers for the College placed in the top-20.
In her first collegiate appearance, Yurosek shot one over par on day one with a score of 73 and followed with a 76 on day two. Her total score over the two days was 149. Gracie started out with a 78 on Saturday and improved by four strokes to finish with a 74 on Sunday, totaling 152 over the weekend. Kate Weiss ’19 placed 10th with a score of 158, Emily Yang ’20 came in 19th with 162 and Zoe Wong ’18 shot a 163 to take the 20th spot overall.
Williams, the winner at the invitational the past seven years, was finally bumped to second place. The Ephs shot 309 and 311 to finish the tournament with a score of 620, while New York University completed the podium in third with a final score of 628 (316, 312). Middlebury, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke and Vassar were the remaining four teams competing in the invitational, finishing in that order.
The results from this weekend bode well for the purple and white’s expectations for the rest of the season under Coach Elizabeth Davis, who enters her inaugural season. The team’s performance was a great improvement from last year where they placed fourth in a field of nine with a score of 661, being beaten by Williams, New York University and Middlebury.
This weekend, the team will be competing in the Mount Holyoke Invitational, where they placed third last year. They will be competing against many of the same NESCAC competitors and hope to find their way to the top once again.
