Late Columbia Surge Lifts the Lions Past Harvard Women’s Golf in Ivy Championship

Harvard held a two-stroke lead after the first two rounds of the Ivy League Women’s Golf Championship. However, the Columbia Lions erased the deficit in the final round to win the title on Sunday at the Baltusrol Golf Club, beating the Crimson by just three strokes.

Harvard entered the day with a narrow lead through the first 36 holes, but Columbia surged ahead on Sunday to finish with a three-round total of 900 (+36), while the Crimson closed just behind at 907 (+43). Princeton placed third at 913 (+49), followed by Penn at 920 (+56), Dartmouth at 934 (+70), and Yale at 956 (+92). The runner-up finish parallels last season, when Harvard also placed second at the Ivy League Championship while Vanessa Zhang captured individual medalist honors.

The result marks a near miss for Harvard, which put itself in position to claim its first Ivy League title since 2019 but was ultimately overtaken in the final 18 holes.

The 54-hole championship, played over three days with six golfers per team and four scores counting each round, tested both consistency and depth, where the Crimson largely excelled.

Despite the runner-up finish, Harvard delivered one of its most complete performances of the season, powered by its deep roster. Four different Crimson golfers finished inside the individual top 10, keeping the team in contention throughout the weekend and within striking distance until the final few holes.

“I think we played pretty well overall,” captain Iris Wang said. “We fought pretty hard throughout the entire round. We gave it our best shot. Columbia just played better on the last day.”

Princeton freshman Thanana Kotchasanmanee claimed the Individual Ivy League Championship with her overall score of +4, holding off a leaderboard that remained tight into Sunday afternoon. Harvard sophomore Lucy Yuan was the Crimson’s top finisher, placing second at +6. Yuan was briefly within reach of the lead before late bogeys on the back nine dropped her just behind Kotchasanmanee. Regardless, the sophomore’s strong performance demonstrated her steady rise as one of the team’s most reliable contributors this spring.

Wang also turned in a notable performance, finishing tied for fourth at +9.

“I just tried to stay patient and take every shot one at a time,” the captain said. “I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. I trusted my team and just fought really hard the whole weekend.”

Sophomore Vanessa Zhang, last year’s Ivy League Individual Champion, remained near the top of the leaderboard throughout the weekend, finishing tied for ninth at +12. The relatively disappointing result comes despite a strong season for Zhang, who has recorded two tournament victories and multiple top-five finishes, including a third-place showing at last week’s Buckeye Invitational.

Freshman Nicole Iniakov, Junior Bonnie Zhai, and freshman Dixon Hill rounded out Harvard’s top contributors, helping the team’s scoring across all three rounds with scores of +19, +22, and +23, respectively.

The Crimson posted scores of 298 (+10) and 310 (+22) over the first two days to take the clubhouse lead into Sunday, but a final-round 268 (+20) allowed Columbia to close the gap and ultimately pull ahead.

Harvard’s performance builds on recent momentum following its strong showing at the Buckeye Invitational and reinforces its position as one of the Ivy League’s top programs. The Crimson has now finished in the top three in 15 of the last 16 Ivy League Championships, continuing a run of sustained success that includes eight conference titles.

For Wang, the tournament also marked the close of her collegiate career.

“Harvard golf has changed my college experience a lot,” the captain said. “It’s taught me so much about leadership, responsibility, and teamwork. I’m really grateful for the past four years with this program.”

After finishing second for the second straight year, Harvard once again proved it has the talent and depth to compete for a conference title, but will have to wait at least one more season to vie for the top spot on the podium. With Yuan and Zhang expected to return at the top of the lineup, the Crimson will enter next spring firmly in the mix to break through and prove it is a title-contending team.

—Staff writer Tamar H. Sheinfeld can be reached at [email protected].