Golf Improves During NESCAC Qualifier

Last week, April 14-15, the men’s golf team was back on the course in competitive play for the first time since the fall NESCAC Qualifier. They took part in the Kravetz Invitational at the Irondequiot and Oak Hill Country Clubs in Pittsford, NY, finishing first in the six-team field as they continue tuning up for the NESCAC Tournament that will take place next weekend, April 29-30, at Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, Mass.

The Panthers finished with a two-day total of 637, but shaved 17 strokes off of their first round on the second day when they shot a collective 310. The tournament winner was McDaniel College which beat-out Franklin & Marshall via a tiebreaker as both finished with a 617.

Phil Morin ’19 and Rodrigo Andrade ’17 were the team’s low scorers, as both shot two day totals of 155 to tie for eighth place. Morin took seven strokes off of his Saturday total when he carded a 74 on day two for the team’s lowest round of the weekend. Andrade took three shots off of his day one total of 79 with a 76 on Sunday.

Reid Buzby ’19 was next in line for the Panthers, as he shot an 82 on Saturday but recovered for with a 77 on Sunday. Buzby, a native of San Francisco, CA, is benefitting from his experience last year when it comes to getting used to taking several months off between competitive outings due to the harsh northeast winters.

“Last year I wasn’t really sure how to approach the offseason because I had never gone through a winter without playing golf,” Buzby said.

“I think I tried to do too much with my game when practicing indoors. This year I didn’t try to do too much over the offseason, I wasn’t worried about what my swing looked like. My game definitely feels like it is in a better place than last spring, and with some more practice these next few weeks I think I can get it back to what it was this past fall.”

David McDaniel ’19, who played an important role in the Panthers’ qualification for NESCACs in the fall, shot an 85 on Saturday and an 83 on Sunday as he looks to regain that fall form.

The women’s team did not compete in the Jack Leaman Invitational at the Hickory Ridge Golf Club in Amherst, Mass., as scheduled, but first-year Chloe Levins ’20 did partake and shot a 76 and an 83 for a tournament total of 159.

Both teams will be back in action at the Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, Mass., this weekend, April 22-23, as they play in separate tournaments hosted by Williams. The men’s squad will be playing to tune up for NESCACs on the same course next week, April 29-30, while the women’s squad takes center stage in what will be the de facto spring conference championships and their last tournament of the season.