Last week, the Wesleyan golf team competed against Williams and Amherst at the annual Little Three Competition, held this year at Williams College. Facing stiff competition from two of the best teams in the conference, the Cards finished third out of the three teams to wrap up their second to last competition of the year. Despite the rough outing, the golf team showed remarkable progress over the course of the year and should have a solid foundation to build on next year with a large core of the team returning
The squad was downed 0-12 by Williams, but managed to squeeze out a half point against Amherst. Senior Adam Stone, coming off of an impressive performance at the Williams College Spring Opener the previous Friday with a score of 79, managed to get the Cards on the scoreboard by placing dead even with Amherst’s number three player. As the only member of the team to place, Stone felt that complete victory over his opponent was within reach
“My play certainly carried over from Friday’s 79,” Stone said. “I didn’t play as well, but clearly I like the course quite a bit. I had to make, back to back, roughly 10 foot putts on 17 and 18 to halve my match with Amherst, which felt great, but I had been beating him the entire round, so I probably should have won.”
Despite solid contributions from several additional individuals, in the end the Lord Jeffs and Ephs had too much firepower for the Cards. Placing on the scoreboard, even with half a point, was a moral victory for the squad, according to junior Everett Tatelbaum ’06.
“At their home course, Williams is very tough,” he said. “Even in the rain, with less than optimal course conditions, they put up great numbers. Amherst was also tough, and so, for Adam to get us on the board was a nice accomplishment. It was good to see that on a day when the team worked hard, and competed well, we didn’t have to leave empty-handed. Of course, we would’ve liked to beat those guys, but you’ve got to be realistic, and tip your hat to Williams, because they just made all the shots they had to, and never let us get close.”
Two other individuals who stroked well despite not placing on the scoreboard were Will Bennett ’07 and Taylor Evans ’07. On the first nine holes against Williams and Amherst, Bennett and Evans were lights out as they shot below 40 on the front nine. Also remaining neck-and-neck with the competition, during two-man alternate shot play through the turn, were Tatelbaum and Mike Merckens ’06. Additionally, captain Hal Tift ’06, Andrew Edge ’08, and Merckens had respectable scores in singles competition.
Despite the last place finish, the golf team remains optimistic about its prospects for next season. Even though the squad will lose an integral part of the team in Stone, the Cards should have abundant match experience and key senior leadership at the helm next season.
“I think schools better start looking out for us next year,” Merckens said. “We’ve got a lot of solid players coming back and we’re all gonna hit the weights this summer. I could see us winning another tournament or two next season.”
“With Coach Potter at the helm we’ve begun to turn the Wesleyan golf program around, and as a relatively young team, with good senior leadership next year, I think we can continue to make progress,” Tatelbuam added. “The team has developed a good chemistry and we’re always really pulling for each other, and I think that matters, and it will only help us to improve over these next few seasons.”
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