Morgan Lee and her teammates prepare for the NESCAC Championship in Williamstown this weekend.
The #13 Middlebury women's golf team ships out to Williamstown, Massachusetts for the three-day NESCAC Championship. The 54-hole event gets underway on Friday from the Taconic Golf Club.
ABOUT MIDDLEBURY
- The Panthers became the third program to secure a conference crown last season and are pursuing a second league title.
- Middlebury posted a three-day tally of 936 (316-309-311) to hoist the hardware a year ago. Audrey Tir powered the Panthers with a third-place showing individually, shooting a 227 over her three rounds (77-73-77).
- This is the second edition of the championship's 54-hole format.
PANTHERS TO WATCH
- Season Wei looks to headline the Middlebury five after recording top-10 finishes in each of the squad's three spring invitationals. The rookie shot a career-low 71 over the opening 18 holes of the Northeast Invitational and posted her best collegiate two-round total (148) to earn a share of fourth place. She also tied for seventh at the Hartford/Blackledge Invitational and split ninth when the Jack Leaman Invitational concluded.
- Bolstering the contingent has been Morgan Lee, who aided the navy and white's victory at the team's most recent invite by sinking six birdies to end in a fourth-place tie. She added a top-20 placement in the spring opener, sharing 15th in the single-round event (80).
- Ella Han was the third Panther to split fourth at the Northeast event, surging 10 spots up the leaderboard with four birdies to shoot a 73 over the final 18 holes (75-73). She opened the spring slate with a tie for 13th at Hartford.
- Several student-athletes are competing for the final two spots. Julia Hua has participated in all three spring events, with her top effort coming in a share of seventh at the Hartford/Blackledge Invitational (77). Her second top-20 spot came in Massachusetts two weeks ago, sharing 16th with a 154 (76-78).
- Daniella Honkamp logged a top-six finish in Hebron, Connecticut earlier this spring, posting a one-round score of 76 to match four golfers in third. She also tied for 16th as an individual competitor at the Northeast Invitational.
- Among the contenders are Elizabeth Whalen and Teegan Duffy. Whalen tied for 23rd at Wellesley's invite with scores of 77 and 80, while Duffy shared 21st in the initial event of the slate (83).
- Piper Jordan, Cailyn Park and Maria Barr are also vying for a spot to qualify in the lineup.
ABOUT THE COMPETITION
- Williams leads the league with six championships, while Amherst ranks second with a pair. Middlebury's triumph last spring means that three institutions have secured conference hardware.
- Euna Lee returns for the Ephs to defend her medalist honor after shooting two-under (71). Her final score of 225 paced the field by one stroke and secured her second laurel in as many seasons. Lee aims to be the first three-time medalist in NESCAC women's golf history.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Middlebury is in the secondary wave of competitors on Friday, as groupings tee off every 10 minutes. The initial golfers hit the course at 11:00 a.m., with the Panthers starting at 1:20 p.m.
