Men's golf triumphs in NESCAC playoff

Author: James Schwerdtman

This past weekend, the men's golf team had the luxury of competing on their home course, and came up clutch, winning the NESCAC Championship for the first time since 2006 and for the third time in the program's history. The win marks another high point in what has been arguably the best season ever for the program.

After an exciting and nerve-wracking finish, the Panthers claimed victory in a tiebreaker over Trinity. The team got to host the tournament after winning NESCAC qualifiers in the fall, which also took place on the Panthers' Ralph Myhre Golf Course. With the victory, the Panthers gain an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

The Panthers finished the first day down seven strokes to Williams, 306 to 313, with Trinity and Hamilton both two strokes behind the Ephs with scores of 308. "Being down seven strokes after the first day is a very good position to be coming from," said Brian Cady '11, who led the team and came in second for the tournament with a 149 for the weekend and a par 71 on Sunday, the low for the tournament. "Realistically, for a team that's not many shots down ... and when people in the lead get tight r to just relax if you're a little behind."

"There were no real adjustments from Saturday to Sunday," added Ben Kunofsky '09, who had the low on Saturday with a 76, and a 156 for the weekend. "We were in a good position after the first day, and we just went out and did it. Everyone shot their scores and it worked out." The loose attitude really helped the Panthers on the second day; Williams, on the other hand, struggled, shooting a 325. "Williams is a little inconsistent sometimes," said Cady. "I think they thought they had some more strokes than they did and they choked a little."

With Williams more or less out of the picture, Sunday turned into a three horse race between Middlebury, Trinity and Hamilton. "It was pretty incredible when it was all said and done," said Kunofsky. "We were all really nervous watching the scores come in." Both of Middlebury's foes on the second day turned in a strong performance, with Trinity shooting a 305 and Hamilton matching their first day total of 308. The Panthers put together a 300, dropping thirteen strokes from Saturday and tying Trinity with a 613 for the weekend. The tie was broken after looking at the fifth score for both teams, which normally doesn't matter but became crucial on Sunday. Kunofsky, who had the low with his 76 on Saturday, shot an 80 on Sunday, and was able to just edge out Josh Grossman of Trinity, who shot an 82. Those two strokes were enough to give Middlebury the win.

From here, the Panthers will head to Nationals, which has become an annual goal of the program. This year, however, with the strong play all season, the goal has taken on another level. "The last few years the goal has always been to reach Nationals," said Cady. "This year we're making a new goal of being competitive at Nationals. It's definitely a step in the right direction for the program and we're absolutely going to try the make the most of it."

The Panthers have already played the courses where Nationals will be held, having played at the Sunshine Invitational over spring break. "Playing in the exact same place is definitely going to help," said Cady. "We know the facilities and we're very comfortable down there."

While the team isn't projected to be one of the best there, it is certainly an accomplishment worth noting.

"Realistically, we're not one of the top competitors," said Cady, "but we're going to go down there and try to do something."