After an impressive weekend of tournament play, both the men's and women's golf teams have shown that, although there is still room for improvement, it has come a long way from last year's struggles.

The men's team captured third place in the annual ECAC tournament, while the women's team fired its lowest round in the young history of the program, shooting a first-round 343 en route to an eighth-place finish at the Rutgers Invitational.

The men's team traveled to Colgate with hopes for its first ECAC title since 1994, but the Crimson fell just short. However, Harvard could not be too disappointed with its third-place finish, which included a final round score of 311, the best of the day for all teams.

Leading the way were junior co-captain Kaj Vazales and sophomore Andrew Malcolm, both of whom shot 155 for the two-day tournament.

A light rain Sunday lengthened the already challenging course. Scores ballooned even more during Monday's final round when 25 m.p.h. gusts wreaked havoc with the players' approach shots.

However, Harvard was not intimidated by the brutal conditions. Junior Jack Lynch, freshman Joe Jackson and Malcolm were a combined eight shots better the second day. This helped the team edge rival Dartmouth, although champion Skidmore and runner-up Colgate remained just out of reach.

"We were pleased as this is another step forward for us," Malcolm said.

The team's improvement over last year goes beyond lower scores and higher tournament finishes.