Nine shots back, men's golf wins NESCAC

Author: Steve Hauschka

In perhaps their biggest victory ever, the Middlebury men's golf team finished out the weekend in dramatic fashion to win the annual NESCAC Championship. Hosted by Bowdoin College and played at scenic Brunswick Golf Club, this year's NESCAC Championship had enormous implications. With a redesigned format, the winner of the tournament now receives an automatic bid to the NCAA D-III national tournament. For the Panthers this win marks their first time to Nationals since 1969, when Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. The team will spend May 15-18 at the Prairie View Golf Club and Hawthorns Golf and Country Club in Indiana, facing the toughest competition in the country.

After the first day of competition, the Panthers were tied for sixth place. The combined team score of 318 left the men nine strokes behind the leader and two time defending NESCAC champion Williams. Eight of the ten teams in the tournament were within ten strokes of the lead, a very tight field. Harrison Bane '08.5 said of Saturday's play, "As a team we weren't really prepared to play. We put a little too much pressure on ourselves because we knew what was riding on it." Though definitely still in the running, the Panthers needed something big to have a chance.

Like the past several weekends, the golfers once again put up an incredible performance on Sunday by posting three 74s, carrying them to a tournament best of 300 to put them in a tie for first place with Trinity. The tiebreaking fifth-best score ­­­of 81 by Middlebury's Michael McCormick '09 beat out the fifth-best score of 84 for Trinity giving the Panthers their first NESCAC Championship since 1999. Bane had an incredible weekend, posting two 74s for a two day 148, which was the second best individual score behind Trinity's Reid Longley with 147. Bane also finished second in last year's NESCAC Championship. Following close behind for Middlebury was George Baumann '08 (80-74), Chad Bellmare '07 (84-74), Jay Yonamine '07 (88-78) and McCormick (80-81).

Bane believed that a big part of the team's low scoring on Sunday was due to the pairings, which seemed to take some pressure off. After coming in sixth on Saturday, the Panthers teed it up with Amherst and Bowdoin before most scores were posted. This allowed the Panthers to play relaxed and within themselves whereas the "the top four teams were battling against each other."

Holes number 10 through 15 on Sunday seemed to be the difference maker for the Panthers as everyone made it through even par. Bane remarked that, "other teams were feeling the pressure and crumbled. We played our own game and let everyone else make the mistakes." With the weather conditions less than ideal, the Panthers set out to make every putt and hope that it was enough. Bane noted that, "shooting three 74s in that tournament in those conditions is pretty unbelievable." Yonamine also contributed - after a triple bogey on the first hole, he grinded all day to shoot a solid 78.

Of particular importance and exemplary of the team's strategy all weekend was the final hole of the final round. Bane said, "everyone made some really important puts coming down the stretch." Baumann found himself looking at a 30 foot downhill put that was difficult to keep on the green and required perfect judgment. He put it to within five feet and then drilled the ensuing side-hill slider.

Bane rounded up the day for the Panthers on the 18th as he eyed his tough 40-foot putt. Bane rememberd, "I [had] to hit in with all the guys watching and rooting for me. I could tell by the looks on their faces that if I made the putt they were going to be happy." After a solid lag, Bane sunk the six-footer to secure a remarkable 300 for the day and a NESCAC Championship. Bane noted that, "the best thing about how we won was that it was as much as a team victory in golf as you can have - everyone's score counted."

This was a huge achievement for the men and a continuation of stellar play completed over the last three weekends. Middlebury's two-day score of 618 beat out powerhouse Williams College, winner of five of the last six NESCAC Championships, by seven strokes.

The Panthers' work is far from over this fall as they head to Hamilton to take on a difficult field that includes many of the top teams in the Northeast. The golf team ends the fall with the New England Golf Championship in late October. The remaining tournaments this fall and next spring will be important for the team as they prepare to play for a National Championship.