Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Aboff, Tigers Hold Halfway Lead at Princeton Invitational
September 22, 2007 | Women's Golf
PRINCETON ? Junior Susannah Aboff fired a 71 to lead a Princeton scoring foursome in which every player broke 80 Saturday afternoon in the first round of the Princeton Invitational at Springdale Golf Club.
Aboff, who has earned All-Ivy honors in each of her first two seasons, recovered from bogeys on four of the first eight holes to shoot par or better on the last 10 and take a four-shot lead into day two.
“I started off kind of shaky with two bogeys,” Aboff said. “But I was able to add some birdies to that. On the back nine, I was pretty pumped. I was playing with a little more confidence.”
Aboff birdied holes three and six to take back her bogeys on one and two before falling to +2 again by bogeying six and seven. But birdies on No. 9 and on the par-3 13th hole pulled her to even and a birdie on 16 put Aboff at 1-under, where she finished after parring 17 and 18.
During some unexpected rain, the tournament was halted for 25 minutes before the clouds gave way to sunny skies.
“I thought our players played well today,” Princeton coach Amy Bond said. “I think we handled the elements pretty well.”
As a team, Princeton leads the 15-school event by 12 shots over Columbia with all seven Ivy League programs competing at Springdale this weekend. Last spring, the Lions edged out Princeton to win the Ivy League championship.
With three freshmen on its seven-golfer roster, Princeton was sure to have a first-year among its group of five eligible to score. Kate Scarpetta was the rookie Bond picked for that honor in Scarpetta's first collegiate tournament, and Scarpetta responded with a 3-over 75 that has her tied for second. Scarpetta joins Harvard's Jessica Hazlett as the two golfers four shots behind Aboff.
Behind Georgetown's Chelsea Curtis and Yale's Harriet Owers-Bradle at 4-over 76 are a group of three players that includes Princeton's Marlowe Boukis at 77. A 78 by senior Annika Welander put all of Princeton's scoring foursome in the top 10, while sophomore Michelle Girlli finished just behind that group at 79.
Princeton freshmen Maggie Boberg and Rachel Blum competed as individuals, with Boberg shooting an 84 and Blum a 93.
Rounding out the team scores behind Princeton (+13) and Columbia (+25) are Yale (+27), Harvard (+27), Georgetown (+32), St. John's (+38), Lehigh (+39), Siena (+48), Brown (+48), Penn (+48), Dartmouth (+51), Sacred Heart (+56), Southwestern (+66), Albany (+71) and Wagner (+71).
The range of tee times for Sunday's second/final round is as follows:
1st Hole:
Siena-Lehigh-Penn: 8-8:36 a.m.
St. John's-Georgetown-Harvard: 8:45-9:21 a.m.
Princeton-Columbia-Yale: 9:30-10:06 a.m.
10th Hole:
Individuals: 8-8:27 a.m.
Albany-Wagner-Southwestern: 8:36-9:12 a.m.
Sacred Heart-Dartmouth-Brown: 9:21-9:57 a.m.
A list of tee times by individual is below.