It was a (championship) banner day for New York University's golf teams, as both the men's and women's teams won their respective Liberty League Championships and have earned automatic berths to their NCAA Division III Championships.
In a pair of dominating performances, the women posted a 49-stroke victory over their nearest competitor in the six-team event while the men won their seven-team competition by nine strokes.
The women led from start to finish over their two rounds on Saturday and Sunday, April 30-May 1, shooting 607 (305-302) to easily out-distance runner-up Wellesley College (656). Meanwhile, the men trailed Skidmore College after round one on Friday. However, they rebounded to shoot a three-round program-record 867 (297-286-284) and win the title by nine strokes over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (876) and by 10 over Skidmore (877).
Both tournaments were held at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY. The women played on the par-72, 5,600-yard Kaluhyat Course, while the men competed on the par-72, 6,763-yard Shenendoah Course.
Aliea Clark shot a one-under 71 on Sunday to win the women's individual title. She totaled 149 for the two days, edging Wellesley's Kate MacVicar by one stroke.
"It's all about the teams and how all of us have fought so hard all year under extremely awful weather conditions," Clark said. "This was the first day I haven't had to use 'hot hands' on the golf course. I'm just so proud of the solidarity between the men's and women's programs here at NYU."
Clark is a graduate student who spent her undergraduate years playing on UCLA's golf team.
"I'm just so impressed with what all of our Division III student-athletes are doing both academically and athletically," Clark added. "The academics are so tough and NYU is such a fantastic university. It makes me so proud to be out there with everyone and I'm so impressed with everything we've accomplished."
NYU owned the next three spots as
Nalinda Wanikpun (151) finished third,
Michelle Zhou (153) took fourth and
Summer Yang (154) placed fifth.
Madison Phung rounded out the Violets' scorers with an eighth-place showing (166).
"I'm really proud of how the women played this weekend," said Head Coach
Katie Rudolph. "They knew what they had to do and they got it done. But, this was just the next step in the process on our way to Nationals."
The men's performance obliterated the old program record of 898, which was set back in 2018.
Robbie Keyes and
Joseph Burlison each finished the tournament under par and took second and third place, respectively. Keyes never shot above par in totaling 214 (72-70-72), the best three-round tournament score in program history. Burlison's 215 (75-72-68) is now tied for the second-best score ever, while his four-under par final round is tied for the third-best individual round in team annals.
That duo was supported by
Chris Lee, who shot even-par 216 (75-70-71) and finished right behind in fourth place.
Also chipping in for the Violets were
Charles Hsieh (T-8th place, 222) and
Kevin Kim (23rd place, 231).
"We knew that this was going to be a marathon of a golf tournament and I'm really proud that the men got the job done," Rudolph said. "This is just a special team and they deserve to be seen on the national stage."
Both teams will now play in their respective NCAA Championships Tuesday-Friday, May 10-13. The women will compete at the Bay Oaks Country Club in Houston, TX, while the men's competition takes place at the Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, FL.
