The golf team headed to the green for the first time this year at the Williams Invitational last Sunday. Wesleyan finished in last place, which left them with nowhere to go but up in Tuesday’s ECAC New England Regional Qualifier. On Tuesday, the Cardinals finished tied for 14 out of the 16 teams that entered.
Sunday’s match was played at the par 71 Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, Mass. The event was scheduled for Saturday, but after playing a few holes, the teams were rained out by the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. Wesleyan’s representatives were Hal Tift ’06, who led the team with a score of 84, Charlie Munzig ’07 (93), William Edge ’08 (93), Adam Stone ’05 (93), and Will Bennett ’07 (97).
The weather was a difficult handicap for the Red and Black to overcome.
“The fairways and bunkers were pretty sloppy, and the wind was pretty strong,” Munzig said. “With these conditions, we did not play well as a team. Personally, I struggled more with my own swing than with the difficult conditions.”
Tift also said the Wesleyan team was not playing at its best.
“The Williams match was our first of the year, so we will just consider that a warm-up match,” Tift said.
Tuesday’s tournament was held at the par 72 Hampden Country Club in Hampden, Mass. Despite a better start, the team still struggled to find its groove. Tift once again led the Cardinals, finishing 79 under par. He was followed by Jeff Sillin ’06 (89), Munzig (90), Stone (90), and Taylor Evans ’07 (109).
“As a team, we improved by 15 strokes from the Williams tournament, which is a trend we hope to follow,” Munzig, who remains upbeat about the fall season, said. “We are all looking forward to a stronger performance this weekend up in Middlebury.”
The team’s next match is Sat at 1 p.m. at the Duke Nelson Invitational/NESCAC Championship at Middlebury.
“The matches, despite the results, have been a lot of fun,” said Tift. “New England Championships are in Oct, and we are really looking forward to it. We just played the ECAC qualifier, and though I don’t think we squeezed into the top four qualifying scores, we definitely improved on the Williams match, and I think we will continue to improve.”