The golf team traveled to Cape Cod for its final fall event, the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association (NEIGA) Championships this week. The two-day, 36-hole event took place on The Captains Golf Course’s two 18-hole tacks, Port and Starboard. The Cards, improving on last year’s showing, finished 34th in the 43 team field made of Divisions I, II, and III schools.
On the championship’s first day, the Wesleyan golfers took on the tougher par 72 Port course, which played to 6,724 yards with a 130/73.5 slope/rating. Dan Velardo ’08 led the way for the Cards, posting a solid 77, while Eli Wilson ’09, the team’s second-ranked golfer, struggled to an uncharacteristic 90. The rest of the team also encountered difficulties, and the squad finished with a team score of 341, well above the day’s 323.0 average.
On day two, playing the 6,776 yard, par 72 Starboard course, the Cards fought back from the first day’s disappointment with a team score of 331. Velardo fired an 80 to lead the team again, while Rob McCourt ’08 recovered from a first round 89 with an 82. Wilson got back on track with an 83 and John Torrenti ’09 finished with 86, consistent with his first day’s 85. John Eshelman ’08 rounded out the Wesleyan squad, shooting rounds of 99 and 91.
Wesleyan’s two-day total of 672 bested last year’s effort by 29 strokes, demonstrating the team’s increased depth this fall.
“The conditions for both days were OK, it was a little windy and cold, and there was a little rain, but otherwise good scoring conditions. I played pretty well the first day, 77 at the tougher course and not that great the second day at the Starboard course. Overall the team played better the second day than the first,” said Velardo.
Velardo and Wilson represented the team’s most consistent performers this fall. Velardo compiled a stroke average of 79.0 with a low round of 75 and high round of 85. Wilson’s 80.7 stroke average included six sub-80 rounds and his 90 at the NEIGA Championships was five strokes higher than his next highest score. Wilson and Velardo were the Cards’ top two finishers in all but one event this fall, Wilson taking first three times to Velardo’s four.
The golf team will return to action in the spring.
Leave a Reply