The Boston University golf team held on to first place and never looked back throughout the two-day Mount Holyoke Invitation in South Hadley to secure what coach Tom Varnum called “the greatest win in the program’s history.”
Junior Allison Hamilton jumpstarted the Terriers on Saturday, finishing the front nine one-over par to end the first round with a 78. On Sunday, sophomore Kaitlyn Mardeusz picked up where Hamilton left off, completing the second round with a 79. Mardeusz was also responsible for five of the team’s tournament-best ten birdies. Hamilton finished with the same pop she had at the beginning of the tournament, scoring birdie-par-par over the last three holes. Both players’ scores placed them in a six-way tie for eighth place.
Senior captain Hannah Barry followed Hamilton and Mardeusz in the standings with a three-way tie for 17th place. All five Terriers finished within seven strokes of each other to help BU notch the top spot in the tournament.
“I am very proud of our team for their very consistent performance over the two days of the tournament,” Varnum said. “Other teams had one good round and a bad one. We were both consistent and balanced.”
BU’s total score of 663 bested America East rival, the University of Hartford, and four other NCAA Division I opponents.
Varnum credits BU’s weekend success to the team’s emphasis on the short game during practice last week. Local PGA professional and BU men’s club golf coach Steve Caldwell gave putting pointers to many of the players during last Friday’s practice.
“I hope that by expanding our practices to include more work on the short game, we can continue to build on our America East success. This weekend seemed to validate that,” Varnum said.
Varnum inherited two consecutive America East championships when he was named golf coach this summer. The jump from the high school level, where Varnum previously coached, required some adjustment.
“I’m still learning how to maximize the talent in the program at the college level,” Varnum said. “As a high school golf coach, I was not allowed to advise my golfers during tournaments or matches. So I’m still working on how to best advise and assist the team during tournaments.”
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