The Panther men’s golf team won its fourth NESCAC title in the last five years last weekend, April 25-26, on their home Ralph Myhre Golf Course. The victory clinches a trip to the NCAA Division-III Championship tournament at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, North Carolina to take place from May 12-15.
The Panthers played host to Williams, Trinity and Hamilton – the three other teams that made the cut for the NESCAC Championship tournament at the qualifier in October. The Panthers finished the weekend with a team total of 595, a 14-shot cushion over second-place Williams. Trinity and Hamilton spent the majority of the weekend out of contention, finishing with team scores of 624 and 633 respectively.
When all was said and done after play concluded on Sunday, Fitz Bowen ’17 and Bennett Doherty ’18 shared the crown of individual NESCAC champion after shooting 147s. Bowen shot a 75 on day one, good enough to go into the clubhouse tied for second with teammate John Louie ’15. Bowen had the low score, a 72, on the second day to repeat as the individual champion. Doherty’s 74 on day one locked him in a three way tie with teammate Charlie Garcia ’15 and Williams’ Jake Goldenring. Doherty improved by one shot on day two, as he fired a 73 that was one stroke behind Bowen and Trinity’s Nick Buenaventura for the low score of the day and allowed him to stake his claim to the NESCAC individual crown.
“Golf is a crazy mental game, and I think the many hours we put into mental preparation was as important as anything,” Doherty said. “Once the tournament came, we were able to play our own game, and ultimately just have fun with it.”
The Panthers shot a 298 on day one, which gave them a five-stroke cushion over Williams. On day two the Panthers shot a 297, a stroke improvement despite tough weather conditions. Williams was unable to close the gap on the Panthers, as they registered a 306, three shots worse than their first day. Trinity came in on the second day of play two shots better than day one with a 311 for a two-day total of 624, and Hamilton shaved seven strokes off its day one total and shot a 313 to finish at 633 on the weekend.
Despite the cool and damp conditions, Williams’ Grant Raffel was tied for the low round of the day on Sunday with Trinity’s Buenaventura and Bowen, as all three shot 72s. Raffel finished with a two-day total of 148, while Buenaventura used a strong day two to rebound from shooting an 80 on day one to finish with a score of 152.
Louie, Garcia and Eric Laorr ’15 each were playing in their final NESCAC Tournaments. Louie finished with the third-best score of a 150 after shooting a 75 on both days. Garcia was unable to follow up on his brilliant first round of play in the damp conditions on Sunday, as he finished shot an 83 and tied for ninth place with a 157. Laorr finished in a tie for 14th after being bitten by several unlucky shots on day one when he shot an 82. However, he rebounded on day two and shot a 77 to finish with a 159.
“This is by far the most satisfying win for us as seniors,” Garcia said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more. It was a great way to end a great career. Winning three out of four NESCACs was amazing but the group of guys we have on the team is what makes it special.”
The Panther women wrapped up their season last weekend, April 25-26 when they played in the Williams Spring Invitational in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The team finished in third place, registering a 643 for the weekend. Finishing behind two teams from Williams, the Panthers shot 324 on day one, and were neck and neck with the two Williams squads and Amherst, each of which were within eight strokes of each other. The Panthers managed to shave five strokes off of their day two score, registering a 319 that put into perspective just how well the Williams A-team played on day two. Jordan Glatt ’15 and Michelle Peng ’15 played in their final tournament for the Panthers. Glatt, who took home the individual honors in the tournament at Amherst two weeks ago, finished in 10th. She rebounded from shooting an 83 on day one with a 77 on day two, carding a 160 to wrap up her career. Peng finished her career with a second place finish as she carded a 153, following a 79 on day one with a brilliant 74 on day two, one stroke off of Williams’ Phoebe Mattana.
