The Liberty League spring championship season gets into full swing on Friday, April 29 as the 2022 Men’s Golf Championship begins at Turning Stone’s Shenandoah Golf Course in Verona, N.Y. Tee times are set for 1:30 PM.
The 2022 Rowing Championships also kick off on Friday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. at Fish Creek (2:30 PM).
The 2022 Women’s Golf Championship begins on Saturday, April 30 (1 PM) at Turning Stone’s Kaluhyat Golf Course in Verona, N.Y.
Round Two of the Men’s Golf Championship starts at 1:30 PM. Both Liberty League golf tournaments conclude on Sunday, May 1 with tee times slated for a noon start.
| MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP |
WOMEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP |
| Dates: April 29, April 30 & May 1 |
Dates: April 30 & May 1 |
Tee Times: 1:30 PM (4/29; 4/30)
12 PM (5/1) |
Tee Times: 1:00 PM (4/30)
12 PM (5/1) |
| Live Scoring |
Live Scoring |
Shenendoah Golf Course
Turning Stone Resort – Verona, N.Y. |
Kaluhyat Golf Course
Turning Stone Resort – Verona, N.Y. |
Men’s Golf Preview
For the first time since 2019, all seven Liberty League Men’s Golf teams will compete at the conference championship with the University of Rochester serving as this year’s host. The Yellowjackets will be joined at Turning Stone’s Shenandoah Golf Course (Par 72) by Clarkson University, Hobart College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Skidmore College, St. Lawrence University and associate member New York University (NYU).
RPI is the defending Liberty League Men’s Golf champion as the Engineers claimed their first title in program history last spring. In two rounds at the 2021 championship, RPI totaled a team score of 577 (290-287) eclipsing the runner-up, Rochester (591) by 14 strokes. Clarkson (606) narrowly edged out St. Lawrence (609) by three to finish third.
Individually, RPI’s Ryan Quinn garnered medalist accolades with a two-round score of 139, finishing -5 on the weekend. Overall, the Engineers had four players finish among the top four—Quinn, Thomas Fraser (2nd; 144), Matt Buckley (T-4th; 147) and Griffin Chenard (148).
Heading into this year’s championship, only three current members have been crowned Liberty League Men’s Golf Champions since the 1995-1996 season—Skidmore (18), Rochester (3), NYU (2) and RPI (1). Since 2015-16; Skidmore, Rochester and RPI have each won one title while NYU claimed back-to-back championships in 2018 and 2019.
All seven teams met up in October 2021 for the Liberty League Preview at the Shenandoah Golf Course, where NYU earned top honors, carding a two-round team score of 582 (+6). RPI finished in second, only two strokes behind NYU as the team totaled a score of 584. Rochester was third with 600 and Skidmore (609) earned a fourth place showing. The Thoroughbreds were followed by St. Lawrence, Hobart and Clarkson.
Skidmore’s Harry Grosso was the medalist at the event, scoring 139 (71-68) over two rounds. RPI had two individuals finish among the top-five with Joey Harrigan (70-71—141), the runner-up and Trent Han (73-70—143) tying for third. NYU was led by Kevin Kim (71-72—143), who tied for third and Chris Lee who finished in sixth (145). Other top-ten finishers included Rochester’s Kerry Wang (5th, 144) and Lewis Raboy (7th, 146) as well as Skidmore’s Evan Forrest (8th, 148) NYU’s Joseph Burlison (9th, 149) and RPI’s Buckley (10th, 150).
Last weekend, three league teams (NYU, Skidmore and RPI) played at the Farmingdale State Invitational while St. Lawrence and Clarkson played each other in a single round.
NYU won the Farmingdale State tournament with a two-round score of 577 (289-288). Skidmore was second with 592 and RPI was fourth at 597. Burlison was the top finisher among Liberty League teams as the individual runner-up with a 70 in the first round and 73 in the second round (143). He was followed closely by teammate Kevin Kim, Skidmore’s John Guerra and Sean Hurley who all tied for third at 144. RPI was led by Harrigan, who tied for ninth with a two-round score of 147.
William Wilson paced the Saints in the single round against Clarkson with a 74 and St. Lawrence won the single round with a team score of 306. Clarkson compiled a team score of 321 and Zack Pilarchik tied for second individually with St. Lawrence’s Benjamin Scholes, the duo each recorded a score of 77.
Women’s Golf
For the first time since 2019, all seven Liberty League Women’s Golf teams will play at the conference championship. Ithaca College, St. Lawrence University, Union College, Vassar College, William Smith College along with associate members New York University (NYU) and Wellesley College will make the trip to Verona, N.Y. for a two-round championship at Turning Stone’s Kaluhyat Golf Course (Par 72).
At the 2021 Liberty League Women’s Golf Championship, only four teams competed and Ithaca College captured its first Liberty League title in women’s golf. The Bombers compiled a score of 679 (336-343) and all five golfers placed among the top-five en route to the team victory. Union was second and William Smith rounded out the top-three.
Women’s Golf was added to the Liberty League sport offerings for the 2012-13 season and three associate members joined the league (NYU, Wellesley and Mount Holyoke College). Only three teams have won the Liberty League women’s golf championship—NYU (6), Mount Holyoke (1) and Ithaca (1). Prior to 2020, NYU won four straight and capped that run off by winning the 2019 NCAA Championship. The Violets did not compete in 2021 and return to the league championship with a new coach at the helm in Katie Rudolph.
Most recently (April 23 & 24), three league teams competed at the William Smith Spring Invite (St. Lawrence, Union and host William Smith) and two competed at Amherst College’s Jack Leaman Invitational (NYU and Wellesley).
At the William Smith Invite, Union won the event finishing with a two-round team score of 661 (334-327). St. Lawrence was second and William Smith was third.
Union’s Ashley Harding carded an 80 in the first round and 77 in the second round to earn medalist honors. Individually, the Dutchwomen placed first through fifth at the tournament; Liz Bentsianov was the runner-up totaling 157 (80-77) over the two days and Kiara Bekham (164) was third. St. Lawrence’s top-two finishers were Cara Vredenburg (T-5th, 178) and Mary Grace McCann (7th, 180) while William Smith also had two among the top ten (Emma Nedeau and Justine Burness). Nedeau (182) was eighth and Burness was ninth (183).
NYU finished atop the team leaderboard at the Jack Leaman Invitational, with a two-round team score of 603, finishing four strokes ahead of runner-up Williams College. Wellesley was fourth overall with a 326 in the first round and 318 in the second round (644 total).
NYU’s Nalinda Wanikpun finished the weekend tied for first at 147 (+3), before she recorded the individual win with a victory in the scorecard playoff. NYU’s Aliea Clark (T-4th, 150) and Summer Yang (7th, 153) also concluded the tournament among the top ten. Wellesley was led by Norah Catlin, who tied for eighth scoring 154 over the two rounds.