2nd Place Finish at NESCAC Fall Qualifier Puts Ephs in NESCAC Championship Next Spring
Amherst, MA – The ten NESCAC schools wrapped up play today at Hickory Ridge Golf Club. For the majority of the day, conditions were ideal as the course was drier than yesterday and wind was minimal. As the final groups were finishing, there was a storm delay for roughly an hour. That did not faze Trinity (594), who put up a remarkable even-par team score of 288 on Sunday to win the tournament.
By virtue of their win the Bantams of Trinity College earned the right to host the NESCAC Championship Tournament next spring that serves as an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
Williams (607) had a good showing of 300 to pass Hamilton and finish the qualifier in second place. The other two schools to qualify for the spring NESCAC Championship were Hamilton (611) and Middlebury (613).
Trinity had a trio of sophomores place in the top three individually in the event. Greg Palmer (147) backed up his 76 from Saturday with a stellar one-under par 71 to take the medalist crown. Classmates Nick Buenaventura and Billy Burchill each fired even-par rounds of 72 to finish at 148 and in a tie for second place with Middlebury senior Billy Prince. Rounding out the top-five was Amherst's Nich Koh (149) who played two steady rounds for the host school.
Williams kept all scores under 80 today, but was unable to keep up with the red-hot Bantams. Junior Dylan Dethier (153) had the biggest turnaround, shaving seven strokes off his Saturday effort to shoot 73. Matt McCarron (152) posted a solid 75 to finish in a tie for seventh. Jake Abrahams (155) and Jake Goldenring (153) each shot 76 today to round out the four counted scores. Junior Ross Bowen (152) battled severe shoulder pain but held it together for 78 and a T7 finish.
Head Coach Rick Pohle had the following comments about his team's performance: "I think we played very well given the wet playing conditions and the difficulty of the putting surfaces. In addition, nobody had ever played the course prior to the event except for 9 holes in a driving rainstorm on Friday. We posted two very competitive rounds (307 & 300) to finish second; but Trinity definitely won the event with their stellar play - especially on Sunday (288)."
Pohle also spoke about the implications for the Spring Championship: "We accomplished the most important feat (qualifying for the final Championship in the spring). Naturally, it was in the back of our mind to secure the home course for the Championship; but that isn't always an advantage. In fact, only Middlebury College has been able to win that coveted NCAA bid when hosting on their home course since this format began in 2006."
The Ephs will conclude the fall portion of their schedule next weekend when they travel to play in the Hamilton Invitational. Play is set to begin Saturday morning in central New York.