Season Outlook

At the end of the fall season the Ephs were ranked 14th nationally, but co-head coaches Kris Herman and Fran Vandermeer and the Ephs know that the team ranked in the fall will not be the same Williams team that tees off this spring.

In five fall events the Ephs won the Middlebury Invitational, won the NESCAC Tournament and were fifth or better each time out.

After coaching the fall portion of the schedule, co-head coach Herman will move on to coach the Eph softball team this spring and sophomore Mary Gelber who placed in the top 10 in three events in the fall will join her as an infielder. Also moving from the golf team to softball in the spring is first year Mary Beth Daub who will pitch for the Ephs.

Laura Koplik '09

Though losing Gelber from the top of the lineup hurts, Vandermeer will welcome back two standout juniors to the spring roster in Laura Koplik and Melissa Barton. Koplik did play in two events in the fall before completing the rest of the semester off campus. Barton was off campus for the entire semester participating in the Williams in New York Program and did not compete.

In Koplik's two events she tied for 17th in the season opening St. Lawrence University Tournament and then tied for fourth in the Middlebury Invitational. Koplik is a tournament-tested competitor who consistently scores in the top 10. She helped lead the Ephs to their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in just the Ephs third year of varsity play. The inaugural trip to the NCAA Tournament in the spring of 2007 yielded a 10th place finish.

Koplik's four-day total of 332 at the NCAA Tournament last spring was one shot better than sophomore Anne O'Leary. Koplik recorded a team-best 81, which she carded twice at the NCAA event.

Melissa Barton '09

Barton and sophomore Anne O'Leary both earned All-East honors last year. Consistency is Barton's hallmark as she is most often in the high 70s, but occasionally in the low 80s regardless of the course and the conditions. Barton equaled Koplik's team-best round of 81 at the NCAA Tournament with one of her own. Barton owns the single best round in Eph women's golf with a score of 73 at Mount Holyoke as a sophomore.

This past fall O'Leary continued her strong play from her first year by finishing in the top three in three events and tying for eighth in a fourth. She garnered top honors at the Middlebury Invitational leading the Ephs to the title when she fired a 165 in her two rounds.

Sophomore Kristin Nottebohm is the fourth of five NCAA-tested Ephs returning this season. In four events in the fall campaign Nottebohm's best finish was a 10th at Wellesley. She also had a 16th place finish at St. Lawrence to open the fall.

Anne O'Leary '10

Sophomore Kait O'Brien who also letters in ice hockey had a good fall season with a fourth place finish at St. Lawrence and a 17th at home in the Fall Classic and a 27th at Mount Holyoke. O'Brien appears ready to contest for a spot in the Ephs top five.

First year Lauren Anstey played in all five competitions in the fall and posted a 13th place finish at Middlebury, an 18th place finish at St. Lawrence and tied for 26th in the Fall Classic at Taconic.

Amiee Weber, another first year, tied for 31st at the Wellesley Invitational to close out the fall season, also letters in Alpine skiing for the Ephs. First year Dale Markey will also push the upperclassmen as they continue to develop.

The Ephs will open the spring season while on spring break in Florida when they participate in the three-day Jekyll Island Invitational in Georgia, March 21-23. The first tournament up north will be April 12th at Vassar.