After third- and fourth-place finishes in its first two tournaments this fall, the Georgetown women’s golf team began the Yale Fall Invitational with high expectations. And the Hoyas did not disappoint their fans, keeping their streak of consecutive top-five finishes alive with a tie for third place out of a field of 10 teams.

According to Acting Head Coach Connie Isler (MSB ’05), the team’s focus was the key to its success at the event, which was held Oct. 1-2 at the Course at Yale in New Haven, Conn.

“Not one of [the Georgetown golfers] gave up and they played hard until the end of the tournament,” Isler said.

Georgetown posted a team score of 637, 77 strokes over par, to finish tied with Columbia and Harvard. Rollins College won the tournament with a 33-over-par 593.

Five Hoyas finished in the top 30 individually. Senior Christy Larrimore shot a 17-over par 157 (80-77) to lead Georgetown, which earned her a tie for 12th place. Sophomore Katie Dwyer tied for 19th place with a 19-over-par 159 (78-81), while freshman Brittany Skoda tied for 24th place with a 21-over-par 161 (80-81). Freshman Chelsea Curtis and senior Nicole Hayashi both shot a 24-over-par 164 to finish tied for 29th place.

Although Georgetown’s second-round score of 320 was three strokes higher than its first-round score, Georgetown moved from fifth place to a tie for third place in the standings because difficult pin locations caused scores to rise significantly.

“The team overall had a lot of putts on the second day. Their ball striking was good, though,” Isler said.

According to Isler, the Course at Yale was a challenge for Georgetown. She called it one of the most difficult courses in the country and said the pin placements were especially challenging on the second day of the tournament.

Isler, who played golf for Georgetown and was the 2005 Big East co-champion, also competed last week. She was one of three golfers chosen to represent Maryland at the USGA State Team Championship, which was held Sept. 27-29 at the North Course at Berkeley Hall in Bluffton, S.C. Isler helped Maryland to a tie for third place out of 48 teams.

“I was proud to play for Maryland,” Isler said.

The Georgetown men’s golf team was also in action this past week. The Hoyas finished 12th out of 12 teams at the Joe Agee Invitational, held Oct. 3-4 at Two Rivers Country Club in Williamsburg, Va.

Georgetown posted a three-round team score of 895, 31 strokes over par and 30 shots behind first-place George Washington. After struggling in the first round with a team score of 308, the Hoyas were unable to move up in the standings despite second- and third-round scores of 293 and 294, respectively. “We dug a hole we just couldn’t get out of,” Head Coach Tommy Hunter said.

Georgetown had two golfers finish in the top 30 individually. Junior Matt Busa led the Hoyas with a six-over-par 222 (73-78-71), earning him a tie for 24th place. Senior David Erickson finished tied for 27th place with a seven-over-par 223 (79-71-73).

The Georgetown men will next compete Oct. 10-11 at the Xavier Invitational in Loveland, Ohio.

As for the women, their next event is the Shootout at the Legends, which will be held Oct. 10-11 in Franklin, Ind.