Golf Returns to Action in Final Tune-Up For Ivy Championships

Columbia’s golf teams will return to action this weekend as the men will travel to Princeton, N.J. to compete with other Ivy League schools in the Princeton Invitational and the women will host the second annual Roar-ee Invitational. For both the men and the women, this will be their final tune-up in match play before both head off to compete in the Ivy League Championships, which will be held April 17-20.

The men are coming off a strong performance in the Notre Dame Invitational, where they placed fifth out of nine teams. The Light Blue was also bolstered by strong individual performances, highlighted by freshman Austin Quinten finishing fourth overall. Columbia will be counting on Quinten and fellow freshman Justin Lee to lead the charge against a strong lineup in the Invitational. Quinten has been one of the Lions’ more consistent performers all season, leading the Lions in the Western Intercollegiate three weeks ago, where he finished 46th out of a field of almost 100 contestants.

Sixteen teams will participate in the Princeton Invitational, including last season’s team champion, St. John’s. Last season’s individual champion was Princeton’s John Sawin, who graduated in May, leaving the field wide open. The course, located in Springdale, N.J., was reconfigured since last season, but should still provide a challenge to the field with a par-71.

The women’s team has not played a tournament since the end of March, when the Lions finished sixth while battling both opponents and the torrential rains. Sophomore Stevy Loy was the highest placing Lion at that event, finishing 13th with an overall score of 234.

The Lions will host the second annual Roar-ee Invitational in Mamaroneck, N.Y. at the Hampshire Country Club. The tournament will be the Lions’ final tune-up before the Ivy League Championships, where Columbia will be looking to defend its Ivy League title from last season. During Columbia’s title quest last season, the Princeton Tigers were the only team to beat the Lions, and Columbia will certainly have its eyes on the Tigers at the Roar-ee Invitational.

The Roar-ee Invitational will host 14 teams, including five Ivy competitors. Brown, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Columbia will all send participants to the par-71 event, which consists of 54 total holes over two days. The Tigers should provide fierce competition for the Lions, having placed ahead of the Lions and all other opponents at the Hoya Invitational two weeks ago. Princeton junior Susannah Aboff has been on a tear of late, winning the individual title in the last two events in which the team competed.

The men will compete in Princeton on Friday and Sunday, and the women will host the Roar-ee Invitational from Friday to Saturday.