After finishing their fall season on Oct. 19, Dartmouth women’s golf is now on the hunt to bring home the Ivy League title this spring. The 2024 Ivy League Championship marked the first and only conference title in the Big Green’s history. Following a promising fall prologue, the team has their eyes on the prize once again and are itching to reclaim the title.
The team started their fall season at The Southern, hosted by Georgia Southern University. There, team captain Sophie Thai ’26 placed sixth with a score of +5, marking a strong start to her season, and led the team to an eighth-place finish in the tournament out of 13 teams. Joined at the next tournament, the Red Bandana Invitational, by freshman Sophia Li ’29, the team made remarkable progress towards a tournament championship. With Li winning the invitational and captains Hope Hall ’26 and Thai finishing 11th and 25th respectively, the team brought home second overall, their best team finish of the season with a score of +23.
The Princeton Invitational ended with another sixth-place finish for the team in their penultimate tournament, but they came back in their season finale at the Battle of the Beach in Rehoboth Beach, Del. with a third-place finish out of 12 teams. Thai tied with teammate Olivia Cong ’28 for 12th individually with scores of +6 across three rounds, and Li scored +8 to finish 21st.
These performances mark a strong start for the team, whose hard work is far from over. Their off-season, beginning this week, will be where any remaining gaps in performance get closed. Lifting and detailed practices will prepare the team for their winter and spring seasons.
“I think that we had a very productive fall season,” Thai said. “It just serves as more motivation to work harder for the upcoming seasons, and I think we can definitely do it.”
The lofty title aspirations can be a lot to shoulder, but the team captains experienced the thrill of the win in 2024 and are changing their games to accommodate what they’ve learned. At the forefront of this mindset change is keeping themselves grounded and grateful.
“I think my expectations were set pretty high, especially with the Ivy’s win,” Thai said. “It’s easy to get caught up with all of that and put a lot of pressure on yourself. Now that I’m a senior, I think I’m really stepping back and realizing that I’m really lucky to even be able to travel to these tournaments and have these opportunities.”
Despite the pressure, Hall said that team members will carry each other through the off-season ahead.
“I think we support each other, and we’re all drawing on each other. I think it will definitely show in the winter and spring,” said Hall.
The competition in the spring will be as steep as ever, with other Ivy League schools offering up powerhouse teams, including defending champions Princeton. But with a strong and consistent base, along with continued growth as they work during the off-season, the Big Green should be ready to compete for a title again.
“I think our performance is still good compared to the other Ivy [teams],” Li said.“We’re really good at keeping it consistent and well-rounded.”
The team’s consistent play style will “be rewarded” at the championship, which will take place at the Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., according to Thai. The storied course has hosted 18 professional major championships in its 130-year history, and last hosted the Ivy League Championships in 2014. The course features hurdles and challenges at every turn, according to Professional Golfers’ Association coach Vinnie Manginelli, and thus favors teams that are steady from hole to hole.
The team also benefits from having a variety of routine contributors who are all capable of strong scores. This was evident in the fall, when five golfers – Hall, Thai, Li, Cong and freshman Claire Wan ’29 – finished in the top 16 in at least one tournament.
“We have the most depth,” said Hall. “A lot of the other teams rely on one or two really good players, but I think we have a really strong, strong team.”
