POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Cortland women's golf team finished in eighth place in a highly competitive field at the Vassar College Invitational Saturday and Sunday at the Casperkill Golf Club. 
 
Cortland posted a 335 on Saturday and a 343 on Sunday for a final score of 678. The top four team finisher are all currently ranked in the top 25 nationally in Division III. NYU, ranked 12th in the nation, rallied on Sunday for a one-stroke victory over ninth-ranked Amherst. NYU had a 307 and 311 for a 618 and Amherst carded a 303 and a 316 for a 619. Sixth-ranked Williams finished third with a 630 (310-320) and 25th-ranked Middlebury was fourth with a 656 (325-331). 
 
Cortland was one stroke ahead of Hamilton, which is receiving votes in the national poll, after the opening day, 335-336. Hamilton, however, moved up to seventh with a 335 Sunday for a final score of 671. Other team finishers included Wellesley in fifth (318-341-659), Ithaca in sixth (332-337-669), Wesleyan (Conn.) in ninth (362-356-718) and Trinity (Conn.) in 10th (377-372-749). 
 
Claudia Winterberg (Harrisburg, NC/Hickory Ridge) was Cortland's top finisher with a tie for 21st place out of 59 golfers. She scored an 82 each day on the par-72 layout for a final total of 164. Paige Cerminaro (Howell, NJ) registered an 80 on Saturday and an 85 on Sunday for a 165 to tie for 25th place. 
 
Rounding out Cortland's top four scorers were Alivia Waldron (Saranac) in a tie for 39th place at 174 (86-88) and Sophie Oristian (Gaithersburg, MD/Quince Orchard) in a tie for 42nd place with a 175 (87-88). 
 
NYU's Aliea Clark was the tournament medalist with a 148 (74 each day), three strokes better than Amherst's Gihoe Seo (74-77-151). 
 
Cortland will head to the Capital Region next weekend. The Red Dragons will face Utica University in a dual match Friday at The Edison Club in Rexford, and the Northeast Women's Golf Conference (NWGC) Championship will be held at that course on Saturday and Sunday. The NWGC team champion will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championships, which are scheduled for May 10-13 in Houston, Texas.

VASSAR INVITATIONAL (April 16-17, 2022) 
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

FINAL TEAM SCORES:

Place, School                   Day 1-Day 2-Total Score
1) NYU                              307-311-618 
2) Amherst                         303-316-619 
3) Williams                         310-320-630 
4) Middlebury                     325-331-656 
5) Wellesley                       318-341-659 
6) Ithaca                            332-337-669 
7) Hamilton                        336-335-671 
8) Cortland                         335-343-678 
9) Wesleyan (CT)              362-356-718 
10) Trinity (CT)                  377-372-749 
 
INDIVIDUAL SCORES (TOP 5, PLUS CORTLAND)
(par 72 each day) 

Place, Name (School)                              Day 1-Day 2-Total Score
1) Ailea Clark (NYU)                                  74-74-148 
2) Gihoe Seo (Amherst)                            74-77-151 
3) Olivia White (Williams)                          78-75-153 
tie 4) Jessica Huang (Amherst)                 75-79-154 
tie 4) Jenny Hua (Amherst)                       75-79-154 
 
tie 21) Claudia Winterberg (Cortland)       82-82-164 
tie 25) Paige Cerminaro (Cortland)           80-85-165 
tie 39) Alivia Waldron (Cortland)               86-88-174 
tie 42) Sophie Oristian (Cortland)             87-88-175 
tie 47) ** Kristina Visniesky (Cortland)      92-89-181 
tie 54) Amanda Gaffney (Cortland)           98-91-189 
 
** individual entry 
 
(58 golfers competed)