Women’s golf team has record-breaking tournament

Kristin+Lee+set+two+NYU+records+at+the+SLU+Invitational.%0A

via gonyuathletics.com

Kristin Lee set two NYU records at the SLU Invitational.

Michael Thompson, Staff Writer

NYU men’s and women’s golf teams kicked off the regular season at the St. Lawrence Invitational in Canton, New York last weekend. St. Lawrence University was host to a record performance by the women’s team.

The Violet women dominated the competition, shooting an overall team score of 594, a substantial 56 strokes ahead of their closest opponent, SUNY Cortland. They set a number of individual and team records, building on what was one of their strongest seasons ever last year. The team shot an overall score of 300 the first day. There were several standout performances, most notably sophomores Angela Yang (71), Kristin Lee (75) and Alyssa Poentis (76).

Day two saw the Violets build on their strong performance in the first day, notching a team score of 294. Lee went even lower on Sunday, shooting 70. With that performance, Lee set school records for lowest single round score and lowest 36-hole score. Yang finished with an overall score of 149, good enough for a tie for second place.

“It feels great to start the season off so strong,” Lee said. “Breaking multiple records today definitely boosts our confidence as we prepare for more difficult tournaments.”

With strong performances on Sunday, freshmen Jenni Bluetling and Catherina Li also cracked the top five.

“I’m sure I can speak for all of us when I say that Todd [Kolean] and Meaghan [Kenny] are running an excellent golf program here at NYU,” Li said.

The men’s team also performed well, finishing fourth in a 12-team field. With an overall team score of 631, the Violets were led by a mixture of old and new players. Freshman Lucas Oberholtzer finished 13th in the individual competition with an overall score of 155, split 78 and 77. Senior Julius Oppenheimer tied for 30th, shooting a solid score of 162. Sophomores Hartej Gill and Daniel Lynch also finished in the top 35, with respective scores of 161 and 163.

After a good start for both teams, expectations and confidence are growing for their upcoming events next weekend.

“If we continue playing the way we did this weekend, I think we’ll be difficult to catch,” Lee said. “After the way we played today, though, I feel proud to say that I play golf for NYU.”

A version of this article appeared  in the Sept. 8 print edition. Email Michael Thompson at [email protected].