WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Senior Emma Abramson produced the lone round under par all weekend at the Williams Invitational despite the rain and gusting winds, carding a 2-under 69 on Sunday to claim medalist honors at her home tournament. The tri-captain led the Ephs to a second-place finish with a 304-295—599 (+31), a mere stroke behind Middlebury and 12 ahead of third-place Amherst.
The last group on the course included Williams senior Natalie Cheong and Middlebury's Teegan Duffy. Duffy needed a birdie on the 411-yard, par-5 18th hole to move into a tie with Abramson atop the leaderboard, while Cheong needed to beat Duffy by a stroke to lift the Ephs into a tie with the Panthers. Both players ended up settling for par on the hole, leaving Abramson victorious and Middlebury that single stroke in front of Williams.
Abramson started the day on the first hole with a birdie — as she did on Saturday — on the 5,855-yard, par-71 course at Taconic Golf Club, a harbinger of things to come. She added another on the third hole, and after a bogey on six, dropped birdies on seven and eight, concluding the front nine at 3-under. But by the time she reached the 18th hole, she was tied with Duffy at 3-over par for the tournament. Her fifth and last birdie ending up being the difference and gave her medalist honors, concluding the tournament at 75-69—144 (+2).
This is Abramson's second career victory, the other coming her rookie year in the spring of 2024. And her 2-under 69 was one shot off the best round at Taconic in program history.
"I'm proud of the team making a run today," Williams Head Coach Tomas Adalssteinson said. "We played better and came close, moving in the right direction. I am really happy for Emma to claim individual medalist with a great 2-under par round today."
Cheong matched her first-round score today with a 3-over 74 and birdies on the ninth and 10th holes, finishing the tournament in fourth place at 6-over par (148). Sophomore Zoe Wynn turned in a 4-over 75 today with two birdies and a 13-over 155 for the two rounds to tie for 21st with first-year teammate Sadie Wu, who also had two birdies today in her round of 77 (+6). The other Williams entrant was junior Michelle Ding who was 6-over each round and tied for 14th overall at 12-over (154).
The second Williams team entered in the invitational finished ninth in the 14-team field with senior Maryanne Grace and first-year Angela Nip tying for 14th at 12-over par.
Next up for the Ephs will be the Wesleyan Fall Invitational at Silver Spring Country Club in Ridgefield, Connecticut on Oct. 3-4.
