The women's golf team continued its winning streak last weekend at the Maine State Collegiate Golf Championship in Cumberland. Over the course of two days, Bowdoin trumped Bates by a combined score of 745 to 786.
Three Bowdoin players—Kendall Kyritz '15, Ursula Munger '15 and captain Chelsea Gross '13—carded below 93 in the Sunday round that ultimately decided the tournament. Kyritz scored 182 for her two-day total, making her the lowest-shooting Polar Bear for the second tournament in a row.
Taylor Guiffre '14 and Emily Quirk '14 were both close behind Gross with their Sunday scores, at 99 and 97, respectively.
The team "never takes a win for granted," said Gross.
Despite the win, she said that the team is less than thrilled with its performance at the tournament.
Gross explained that the scores at matches are generally higher than any of those from practice.
"The team practices one way and plays another," noted Gross. Considering the proven talent on the team, she said it was surprising to see the players coming away with such high scores.
According to Gross, many of the team members have been "breaking down under the fantastic pressure." Because all of the members are experienced golfers that typically shoot in the low 80s, competition is intense and earning the individual low-medalist award is very difficult.
In an effort to take some of the heat out of competition, Gross cancelled Tuesday's practice and instead took the team to Fat Boy Drive In.
Despite this year's stresses, Gross said, "This is the closest team there [has been] in my three years."
"The team feels like a nice little family," said Head Coach Gerry Caron.
Ultimately, the team's focus is on its combined total and supporting each other, despite the fact that the players are competing against each other for the lowest individual score.
In order to improve the uncharacteristically high scores the players have been earning in the matches, Gross and Caron are brainstorming a number of ideas.
One involves changing up daily practices by playing on a variety of different golf courses. This way, practicing will not become too repetitive or stale and the team will acquire a broader range of experience.
The Polar Bears' next match will be October 1 at the Bates Invitational. The team will continue its practices and work at decreasing the amount of pressure the girls feel.
"We'll be ready by then," said Gross.