Everything came together at this year’s MAAC Championships for sophomore Allison Schick, who posted the lowest individual scores of the tournament. Unfortunately, Schick’s effort wasn’t enough to put the women’s golf team into first place.
Without any individual expectations, Schick said, “I had a feeling I could shoot low with the way I was hitting the ball. I just needed my putting to be there, and it was,” she said. “As a team, we thought we had a great chance at winning. We were all playing really well going into the tournament, so we were confident.”
Despite this belief, the Stags fell to Siena, the only other team in the conference, by only nine strokes. “The girls tried the best they could, but it’s always more competitive when there’s only one opponent,” said head coach Jeannie Gaston.
Gaston was not surprised with Schick’s performance.
“She is very capable, so I’m not surprised that she played so well,” Gaston said. “She was so focused. It was a reflection of her capabilities and her desire to win – she’s a great competitor.”
Team captain Beth Costello, ’03, expressed her disappointment in losing her last shot at a team title.
“We thought if we went down there and posted good numbers, there would be no reason why we shouldn’t have beaten them,” Costello said. “We all had a good round, we just didn’t put it together.”
Gaston cites inconstancy throughout the three days of competition as a weakness that led to Fairfield’s defeat. She still remained proud of their performance. “They plugged along and never gave up,” concluded Gaston.
Fairfield, however, continued drastic drops in its overall score at the MAAC Championships in recent years. In 1999, the women’s score was up to 780. In the last three years it went down to the low 700s. This year the team managed to bring it down to 674.
However, Siena has also followed this trend, winning last weekend with a score of 665.
Gaston said a partial factor to Siena’s success the last two years over Fairfield has been the fact that the Saints have scholarship money in its program, whereas the Stags have no money to offer players.
“We do the best that we can, considering what we are given,” Gaston said. “Kids come to Fairfield because they like the school, not to play golf.”
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