The women’s golf team achieved victory this weekend at the two-day 2018 Hamilton Invitational at Yahnundasis Golf Club in New Hartford. The four-person Hamilton team finished the tournament with a total score of 679–338 on Saturday followed by 341 on Sunday. This is the second year in a row that the Continentals won the title at their invitational.
The runner-up in the eight-team tournament was SUNY Cortland with a 694 total. SUNY Cortland was then trailed by Ithaca College, which scored a 712 total.
Libbie Warner ’19 finished with a 36-hole total of 163, putting her in third place.
Emily Moy ’22 and Winda Wanikpun ’20 tied for fourth place at 166. Moy played in her first collegiate level tournament this weekend at the invitational. On Sunday, Moy met Warner’s 7-over par 80.
Wanikpun played as an individual on Saturday and Sunday, carded at 83 on both days. Wanikpun was the individual medalist at last year’s invitational. “This weekend was great for the women; we all shot pretty low even though we didn’t play our best,” said Wanikpun.
“I’m really excited to see how we perform this season. I think this is the best team we’ve had during my three years here playing golf for Hamilton.”
Celia Lau ’21 and Sophia Archos ’21 landed in tenth and seventh place respectively. Archos was successful in achieving her own personal record of 80 on Saturday and finished at 173.
Meanwhile, Lau finished at 177 after two rounds of 89 and 88. Both players helped to give the Continentals five players in total in the top ten.
Warner emphasized the importance of the weekend’s victory, stating, “This past weekend’s home tournament was exciting for women’s golf as it was a peak of our team potential. We have three new [first-years] on our team, adding talent and excitement to our roster.
“To start the season on such a strong note with a win is a great forecast into the season. With continued practice, the opportunity to gain more confidence and learning how to play each new course, our team has a lot of potential that should hopefully show low scores and more wins.”
Warner also mentioned the progress for the team’s future with increased practice time, saying, “Golf is a game where some shots are inevitably left on the course whether a 6-foot birdie putt missed or an errant tee shot that you normally hit down the center.
“With this in mind, I believe the women’s team will see lower scores going further as our practices help reduce those missed opportunities in the tournament setting, as tournament setting is unique.”
This Saturday and Sunday, the women’s golf team will play at the St. Lawrence University invitational, a course that they have historically done well on and are looking forward to returning to.
According to Warner, this is an exciting time for the Hamilton women’s golf, in part because of the new Bob Simon Practice Facility, dedicated returners, driven first-years, and optimism for the future of the team starting this weekend at the St. Lawrence Invitational.
For the men’s team, individual medalist Milan Matneja ’22 helped lead the team to the title of the 2018 Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 1. Tied with SUNY Oswego in the eight-team tournament on Saturday, the Continentals finished with the lowest final score of 596.
The Hamilton men’s team of eight achieved the first-place title and was followed by SUNY Oswego at 605. Another Contitental team of five finished in third overall at 619.
Matneja was an individual medalist at the tourmament. The invitational was Matneja’s first collegiate competition and he also successfully broke par at the tournament.
Other highlights included Sam Vogel ’22, who tied for second place at 144 and led the Continentals team of five. Vogel also broke par at the tournament alongside Matneja.
The men’s and women’s golf teams will be playing at St. Lawrence University this weekend. Both teams play Saturday, Sept. 8 at 1:00 PM. and Sunday, Sept. 9 at 8:00 AM.
