Despite a rough start to the spring golf season, the golf team hopes to pick up its play as it enters the final stretch of the year. Facing some stiff competition the past week, the team traveled up to Williamstown for the Williams College spring opener where the team finished eighteenth among the competition, and then faced Rhode Island for their second contest of the year on Tuesday.
At Williams, facing tough squads such as NYU, Hamilton and Williams, the Cardinals ran into a road bump and finished towards the bottom end of competition.
However, the golf team got a solid individual performance from senior Jim Panczykowski ’04 who fired a team best 92. Panczykowski, who has established himself as one of the main anchors of the team this spring, plays a unique style of golf, according to senior captain Adam Hodge ’04.
“Jim has been rock solid during his career. He’s always been a little loose out there on the course. He plays a fired up version of golf, and we all love him for that here at Wesleyan,” Hodge said.
Also competing in the tournament at Williams were seniors Chapin Kelly ’04 and Brennan Carney ’04, Mike Merckens ’06, and Will Bennett ’07. Overall, the team shot a 388.
This past Tuesday, the squad struggled in the match at Rhode Island, falling 347-363. Panczykowski led he team again with an impressive 84, followed by Hal Tift ’06 who shot a 90, Adam Stone’s ’05 94, and Bennett’s 95. The golf team, which has several new faces on the roster this season, saw the debuts of Tift and Stone.
“It was my first round in a golf competition ever, and they have me tee off first. Fortunately I hit a perfect drive that split the center of the fairway. After that, it got pretty ugly as I played the first four holes at nine over par. Luckily, I picked it up after that and reversed those numbers by playing the next nine holes four over par. But it was too little too late, as the damage had already been done,” Stone said.
“Adam is not a bad player. His tennis experience will definitely help him out on the golf course,” Panczykowski said.
Stone, also known for his other talents as a tennis player and stand up comic, is not the only comedian on the golf team.
“Mike Merckens, who saw some experience in the fall, is an incredible comedian. His comedian act and personality help him distract some of the other players,” Hodge said. “You certainly can’t count out Mike. I’m confident in the summer that he’ll get his game in shape through bench presses and wind sprints. It’s about time after four years.”
Another player who Hodge may order to join Merckens in the bench presses and wind sprints this summer is Bennett. Bennett, according to Panczykowski, has load of talent and should be a solid player in the years to come.
“If Will can work on his putting, it would help him out a lot. His confidence is there, and he hits the ball a mile. With all the new players on this team, there is room for improvement.”
On Wednesday, the team will travel up to Amherst to take part in the Little Three Tournament. Hodge has been out of commission recently with two herniated disks in his back. Even though the team is a heavy underdog going into the tournament, Hodge is confident the team will remain competitive.
“We haven’t been able to get a point from Williams, but I’m very confident after grabbing their purple and yellow paper mache mascot a few years back at a football game, we can put it to good use.”
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