Men's Golf Fall 2012 Season Outlook
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — 2011-12 was a rollercoaster ride for the Williams College men's golf team. The Ephs played well enough in the fall to earn the right to host the NESCAC Championship Tournament in the spring, but their play fell off come May and they finished short of the conference title by eight strokes to Middlebury.
Head coach Rick Pohle returns for his 30th and final season at the helm of the program he has built into a national power, and has one goal in mind for his young men this season: Win.
"My goal for the team will not be getting prepared for any event down the road — pure and simple, it will be to win every event we compete in," Pohle said.
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| Ross Bowen '14 |
A pair of juniors will lead Williams this fall, Dylan Dethier, who was named to Ping's Northeast All-Region team last season, and Ross Bowen, who was second among all individuals at the NESCAC Championship in May.
Last fall, Dethier had a key 6th place finish at the NESAC Fall Qualifier (147) won by the Ephs and earned First Team All-NESCAC honors. Bowen fired a two-day total of 156 at the NESCAC Tournament to lead the Ephs.
Juniors Jake Abrams, Jake Goldenring and Matt McCarron also return and will have an impact of the success of the Williams squad this fall. Classmate Cody Semmelrock will be studying abroad, but will compete in the spring.
"Our players got a lot of tournament experience last year with the graduation of the '11 team and we seemingly didn't miss a beat in the fall portion of the schedule," Pohle said. "The spring portion was a different story though - we struggled for consistency and played poorly in most of the events (by our standards). That led me to believe either we over-achieved in the fall or under-achieved in the spring. Either way, we will be an improved team with the experience and the addition of a strong freshman class."
Williams will also benefit from the return of senior Jack Ervasti, who returns to the team after spending the entire 2011-12 season on the DL with a wrist injury. Ervasti will be a welcomed site back in the line-up according to Pohle; he possesses a strong tournament pedigree and he has had the ability to post very good numbers in the past.
"His presence automatically makes us a better team," Pohle noted.
Some of the key first-years to keep an eye on, according to Pohle, include Tony Liu (Charlottesville, VA), Michael Stone (Rolling Hills, CA), Max Elgart (New York, NY), Frank Worthington (Lower Gwynedd, PA), Matt Werner (Rochester Hills, MI) and Andrew Leary (Auburn, NY).
"I feel we had very good recruiting year which should bode well for the future, but with golf we have to identify the "hot" players and get them into the line-up as soon as possible," Pohle said. "Whether they be a freshman or a senior class — structure means nothing to me when it comes to shooting good scores in competition."
The Ephs will travel to the Bowdoin Invitational (Brunswick, ME) this weekend; while the players staying home will be competing in an intra squad event at Taconic.