The Boston University golf team lived up to its pedigree this weekend at the Jack Leaman Invitational, named after the BU alumnus. The Terriers came from behind to best 10 competitors and come out on top in one of New England's most prominent invitational tournaments.
The Terriers advanced four spots Sunday to win the tournament with a total score of 690. The team shot a 357 Saturday to gain fifth place going into Sunday, but closed out the weekend with a 333 on Day Two to secure the championship.
"After the first day, I really didn't change anything," said BU coach Tom Varnum. "I just told the girls they just need to keep doing what they're doing. They're good golfers. I didn't make any dramatic lineup changes. We've shot well in the past at [Sunday's] course. We needed a big comeback, so I was confident that we could do it."
BU played at two different courses in western Massachusetts during the two-day tourney. Saturday, it faced Hickory Ridge Country Club in Amherst before traveling to Orchards Golf Club Sunday in South Hadley.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Mardeusz finished third overall with a cumulative score of 165. Mardeusz shot an 86 Saturday but improved by seven strokes Sunday to finish with a 79. Freshman Ana Johnson also carded a 79 Sunday after shooting a 90 on Saturday. Johnson finished the weekend with a total of 169, good for seventh-place.
Two other Terriers had standout weekends, as juniors Lauren Stong and Allison Hamilton finished 22nd and 28th, respectively. Stong shot a two-day total of 177, while Hamilton (179) wasn't far behind.
While Varnum singled out Mardeusz and Johnson as the key to the Terriers' victory, Stong and Hamilton also played a pivotal role in the win.
"Our top two scorers on Sunday really made the difference for us," Varnum said. "They both shot a 79, which was the second lowest score of the tournament on Sunday. When you have two people who commit at that lowest score, it really helps out the team.
"What has been the key to our success all year is our depth. We have five or six excellent golfers who, at any time, can shoot a really low score. This weekend happened to be Mardeusz and Johnson, but Allison Hamilton and Lauren Stong both contributed and they both improved on their scores from the previous day to bring us to the victory. Without their scores, we wouldn't have won."
Up next for the Terriers is the America East Championship, held May 2-4 in Simsbury, Conn. They plan on taking the momentum from this weekend's victory into the conference championship, where they hope to defend their title.
"I think we're a very confident team as it is, but now we understand what we're capable of doing," Varnum said. "We were very disappointed with our score after the first day and we knew we could do better. Now we know what we're capable of doing. We just need to do that both days instead of just one day of the tournament. If we do that, we'll finish the season strong with the America East Championship."
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