The Wesleyan golf team had a very impressive showing this past weekend at the Williams College Invitational, placing 11th out of 20 teams for its finest-ever performance at the annual tournament. The team tied with Western New England College for a 623 stroke total, shooting 12 below its previous best posted in 2006. Captain Eli Wilson ’09 led the team with a personal 77-74-151 total, tying for 19th out of the 107 participants. Skidmore took the competition after winning a tiebreaker with Middlebury, who boasted the individual medalist, Harrison Bane.
The Cardinals have been participating in this invitational since the 1995-96 season. This fall, the five-man Wesleyan squad was made up of Wilson, Pete Taylor ’12, Dan DeRienzo ’11, A.J. Ferrero ’12, and John Torrenti ’09. Wilson, Taylor, and DeRienzo all scored under 160, with Taylor and DeRienzo tying for 38th overall after shooting 154. Day two went especially well, with the team reaching a combined score of 308 after shooting 315 on day one.
“We knew we were in the hunt, and our guys came out fresh and eager to fire a good round early Sunday morning,” said Wilson. “We did Wes proud this week with what I would consider our strongest two-day showing in three years.”
Everyone made a huge effort, partially due to an incentive that coach Chris Potter gave the men.
“Our coach helped up our competitiveness when he dangled a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream prize for low-man on our team,” said Wilson.
With that extra motivation, the five men introduced some healthy competition between themselves, which in turn helped their overall team efforts.
This year has already showcased some young talent that has revived the team. Freshmen Taylor and Ferrero have already infiltrated the five-man lineup, and there is hope surrounding Leif Jacobsen ’12 and Alex Levin ’12, who are both currently recovering from injuries. DeRienzo also showed promise this weekend with the best score of his Wesleyan golf career. The team looks solid for a few years to come, especially with the current experience these men are getting. Right now, the men plan on taking this past weekend and using it as motivation for the weeks to come.
“We are playing in one of the most important tournaments of the season at Middlebury next weekend,” Taylor said. “Hopefully we can build off of our momentum we generated over the weekend.”
This upcoming tournament is the NESCAC Qualifier. The top four teams will earn a spot in the championship round in the spring and have a chance at an automatic bid to the NCAA golf tournament. The Cards look to be among the leaders, and this past weekend’s success should give them the confidence to perform at their best.
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