DT Fine Art

By Jim Fuller, New Haven Register, Conn.

May 4–NEW HAVEN — The last time the Yale womens golf team headed down to play on the renowned LPGA International course, the Bulldogs came away with the Xavier LPGA Invitational title.

The stakes will be a little higher this time.

Thanks to an impressive final round at the Ivy League tournament, the Bulldogs won their first league title in five years to secure a berth in the NCAA regionals.

Seniors Harriet Owers-Bradley and Alyssa Roland, who were so overcome with joy after realizing their Yale careers would be extended, will likely take a trip down memory lane when they make their way around the course. As sophomores they played major roles in helping Yale beat 14 other teams to win the Xavier event.

Alyssa and Harriet played really well there, Yale coach Chawwadee Rompothong said. They shot in the 70s and beat some really good Division I/Division II teams down in Florida. We have a good opportunity. If we play well and putt well, we would be able to finish in the top eight.

Yale will have an added advantage as volunteer coach Jeehae Lee happened to qualify for the LPGA Tour on the same course the NCAA regionals are being played at.

After finishing second in the Ivy League tournament in each of the last two years, getting to this point has been the goal for the Yale players and coaches.

Heading into the final day of the Ivy League championships, Yale was tied with Penn for the lead. Each of the five Bulldogs posted their best 18-hole scores in the 54-hole event to punch a ticket to the NCAA tournament.

We didnt have a particular team meeting but we all knew how important that last round was and I guess each prepared in their own way, Owers-Bradley said. During that whole round, we were shaking on every shot. We had a ton of pressure on us.

It is a perfect end to our Yale golf careers. This year when our two freshmen (came in), weve had our most talented team weve ever had, so our chances were looking really good this year. We had a really great season in the fall and in the spring leading up to the tournament.

Freshmen Seo Hee Moon, who was named the Ivy Leagues rookie and player of the year, and Sun Gyoung Park finished third and 12th in the Ivy tournament while Owers-Bradley took seventh and Roland came in 15th. With the top four scorers separated by just seven shots, Yale had both the quality and quantity to win the title.

When Coach recruited both of us she said her goal as a team was to win the Ivy, go to the regionals and eventually the NCAA, Park said. Both of us knew that and both of us really desired that in our heart.

Yale left for Florida on Tuesday and Lee will be waiting for them when they arrive ready to be a tour guide and fill in the Yale squad on the various nuances of the course she played at to earn her tour card.

She knows the course really well. She is our volunteer coach and she is off from the LPGA Tour right now and she is going to come down, help us out and give us the lay of the land, Rompothong said.

Rompothong led Yale to its last Ivy League title in 2006, her first season at the helm of the program.

The following year the three seniors (Bradley, Roland and Cassie Boles) came in and Rompothong believed more league titles were in the future. It took four years but her optimism was rewarded.

It has been our goal since I recruited them, Rompothong said. I had three seniors who I was trying to get them to change the whole vibe of the Yale womens golf team and aim for nationals.

That has never even been heard of before. The first step is winning our conference championship, trying to place in the top eight at the NCAA regionals. Weve been close the last few years, coming in second the last two years and be able to cap it off with a fantastic year overall. I think we have our most wins this year in school history and that would have been bittersweet if we didnt win the Ivy League championship. It was nice for them to finally get the coveted Ivy League crown.

Yale is one of 24 teams competing at the regionals. The Bulldogs will be paired with host Stetson and Kentucky on Thursday and Friday and hope to be in contention for a top eight finish for the final 18 holes on Saturday.

If we (repeat) that final round (they shot at the Ivy League tournament) again each day than it is very reasonable, Owers-Bradley said.

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Brussels – The Greek debt problem is to take centre stage when European finance ministers meet in Brussels early next week.

There would be no sensational decisions, one European Union diplomat said – especially given the fact that EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) experts have yet to finish a mission to Athens to assess the extent of the problem.

Dont forget that Greece is under (a bailout) programme. The money is already given. We have time, the diplomat, who asked not to be named, said.

However, the chief economist of the Lisbon Council think-tank believes that there is a pressing need for action, given that Greece is unlikely to be able to meet its obligations despite a 110- billion-euro (155-billion-dollar) bailout a year ago.

Crises feed on uncertainty, Alessandro Leipold noted in Brussels. Markets can be fickle if theres not a quick response.

The finance ministers of the 17-member eurozone are to meet on Monday, followed by a meeting of the finance ministers of all 27 EU membr states on Tuesday.

EU Economy Commissioner Olli Rehn rejects debt restructuring and has urged the Greeks to stop bickering and pass austerity measures.

(Restructuring) sounds very easy and neat. However, I must say that its proponents seem to ignore the potentially devastating implications … on economic growth and employment, he has said.

There are all kinds of downsides to restructuring, Leipold said. But there are no painless, easy solutions. And all will involve taxpayers to some extent.

Observers agree communication needs improvement. A report that a finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg a week ago was considering a Greek exit from the eurozone caused the euro to fall sharply.

Nothing happened (in Luxembourg), but there was panic, the EU diplomat noted, pointing to a general bubble of anxiety.

Ministers were more worried about market rumours than the actual situation, he said. Communication is essential with the nervous markets we are having.

There is agreement that the financial crisis the eurozone is facing is one of the biggest challenges the EU has ever tackled.

Leipold called it a turning point, a defining moment, while Rehn referred to a critical juncture concerning the future of Europe.

A deal is expected to be struck this week on limiting naked shorting – whereby traders contract a future sale of something they do not own. The practice is thought to exacerbate market swings.

Upcoming stress tests on the solidity of the EU banking system and the blocs new economic governance package are also to be discussed.

Portugals bailout is expected to meet no resistance, after the formation of a new Finnish government in support of the idea.

The third EU country to have been bailed out, Ireland, will also be raised, but officials said they expect no developments on its request to lower the interest rate on its EU-IMF loans.

Every week, I take a trip around some of my experts leagues to see which players are hot commodities on the waiver wires. But before we get to the results, were there any third basemen who managed to get through the weekend unscathed?

• Pablo Sandoval – broken hamate bone (out at least a month)
• David Freese – broken bone in his hand (out 6-8 weeks)
• Ryan Zimmerman – abdominal surgery (out another 6 weeks)
• Casey Blake – elbow infection (out at least four weeks)
• Kevin Youkilis – jammed hip (day-to-day)

In fact, Sandovals injury — and the urgent need to replace him — even pushed Keith Olbermann over the edge this weekend. (Hat tip: The Big Lead)

Thankfully, Evan Longoria is ready to come off the disabled list this week and return to fantasy lineups. If you have a healthy body at the hot corner, consider yourself fortunate. (And if you play in leagues with one-game eligibility, Albert Pujols played third base on Sunday following a double-switch.)

KFFL (mixed)

Five of the leagues 12 owners put in a claim for Astros pitcher Bud Norris after he tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings against Milwaukee on Sunday. The winning FAAB bid of $53 (out of $1000) was by Doug Anderson of RotoExperts.com. Norris was one of three new pitchers he picked up this week, along with Bronson Arroyo and (not surprisingly) RA Dickey.

Pitchers Madison Bumgarner ($51), Bartolo Colon ($37), Brian Duensing ($23), Chris Volstad ($13) and Hong-Chih Kuo ($6) were also picked up as free agents. Among the hitters, Justin Smoak ($76), Ben Francisco ($46), Mitch Moreland ($25) and Ryan Roberts ($15) were claimed.

Tout Wars (NL)

Three players went for $10 (out of $100) as the thinner free agent pool forced owners to dig deep to fill unproductive lineup spots. Daniel Descalso, who will likely help fill Freeses spot at third for the Cardinals, was one of those $10 pickups (actually $15 in the Vickrey system). I just didnt bid enough on Descalso, who would at least have given me some regular playing time at the spot formerly occupied by Zimmerman.

In addition, pitching call-ups Ryan Vogelsong of the Giants and Vance Worley of the Phillies have been impressive since entering their teams rotations. Rob Liebowitz of Mastersball.com (who just replaced me in the league basement) dropped his 10 bucks on Vogelsong. Fifth-place Chris Liss of RotoWire.com snagged Worley.

LABR AL

Cleveland Indians pitching prospect Alex White limited the Tigers to two runs in six innings in his major league debut on Saturday. He was the big-ticket ($26) pickup for Tom Trudeau of Bloomberg Sports. White finally gives his team a replacement for Jake Peavy in the active lineup.

Blue Jays call-up David Cooper went for $17 to take over a corner infield spot for Mastersballs Perry Van Hook.

LABR NL

The big news here wasnt the acquisition of Worley (for $11) by the NFBCs Greg Ambrosius and Shawn Childs. Or the $7 BaseballHQ.coms Doug Dennis paid for Pirates pitcher Jeff Karstens. Or even the $6 Rotoworld.coms Rick Wolf and Glenn Colton forked over for Emmanuel Burriss to replace the ailing Blake.

The big news was the blockbuster trade between Dalton Del Don of RotoWire.com and Steve Moyer of Baseball Info Solutions. Again, the injury to Freese may have forced Moyers hand — leading him to trade Phillies co-ace Cliff Lee for Brewers 2B Rickie Weeks. (Moyer has Ty Wigginton he can move to third base.)