By Jimmy Sullivan
The Fordham Men’s Golf team finished in seventh place at the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Fla. this past weekend.
Once again, the star for the Rams over the three-day tournament was senior James Mongey, who shot a three-day total of 225 to finish 10th overall among individual players. When asked about his impressive weekend, Mongey pointed to his experience on the course as the biggest reason for his success.
“I think having played the course my sophomore year helped a lot,” he said. “I got a feel for how the course plays. It is very difficult and tough to shoot low. You are going to make bogeys and par is always a great score, but I hit the ball great. I think if my short game was a little better, I might have won.” Instead, he finished seven strokes behind tournament champion Mike Blasey of Davidson College. Davidson also won the team tournament by shooting a three-day total of 891; Fordham finished 28 strokes behind that figure with a 919, which placed them seventh out of 11 teams.
Senior Joseph Trim and sophomore Tomas Nieves were also impressive for the Rams, as both finished tied for 24th place on the individual leaderboard with a three-day total of 231; Nieves shot a two-under 70 in his final round on Sunday. Senior Matt Schiller shot a 19-over 235 over the three days and junior Josh Madarang finished at 28-over with a 244.
Despite finishing seventh in the Atlantic 10 yesterday, this was a historically good Rams team. Schiller and Trim finished their Fordham careers with an 18-hole scoring average of 75.5, which ties both of them for first all-time among Rams golfers. Mongey’s career ended with a 76.6 average, which puts him in third on the all-time list. Out of the three, Trim played the most career rounds with 95, with Mongey and Schiller close behind with 91 and 88, respectively.
“I will look back on my time at Fordham with a lot of great memories,” Mongey said. “I will miss playing for coach (Paul) Dillon. I feel so grateful to have shared these experiences with him. I’ve formed great friendships as well, along the way.”
The Rams will lose Mongey, Schiller and Trim to graduation next season and will have to pick up the slack in the absence of, statistically, the three best golfers in the history of the school. Players such as junior Tommy Hayes, freshman Mithran Denbow, Nieves and junior Tommy Hayes, all of whom appeared in minor roles this year, will have to combine to fill the shoes of the departing seniors. Mongey, Schiller and Trim leave an outstanding legacy and their absence will be difficult for the Rams to overcome next season as head coach Paul Dillon heads into his 23rd year at the helm of the program.
Even though replacing the departing players will be difficult for the Rams next season, coach Dillon has proven that he develop young talent and will need to do so again if the Rams wish to replicate their success from this season. The improvement of the returning players will be key to Fordham’s success next season and beyond.
As for the year that just finished, though, the Rams have no complaints. “I think my game has improved every year,” Mongey said. “I’m optimistic my best is yet to come.”
