By Jack McLoone
It has been a rough fall for Fordham Golf. Outside of senior Josh Madarang, the team has struggled to find any kind of consistency, resulting in multiple last-place finishes and a best finish of just 17th out of 20 teams. But in its final tournament, the team took a step forward, coming in 11th out of 15 teams at the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Championship.
As has been true for every tournament this season, Madarang was the top golfer for the Rams. The senior wrapped up his final Fall with a two-round 148, following his opening round 75 with a 73 on Monday. That 73 was the third-lowest second-day final round amongst the field. That score placed him in a tie for eighth, his third top 10 finish of the fall.
But after the first round, Madarang was not on top for the Rams. Instead, it was sophomore Anthony Wells, who shot an opening-round 74, which put him in a tie for 16th. However, he picked up five strokes on day two by shooting a 79 and finishing with a 153, good for a tie for 31st.
“It was nice to see Wells play good,” said Madarang of the sophomore. “He has been solid most of the season and is our most improved by far so it was good to see him end strong.”
The next Fordham finisher was actually competing as an individual, likely due to his up-and-down freshman season: Aidan Denning. He tied with Madarang on day one, also shooting a 75. But he faded fast on the second day—a not-unexpected theme to his first season as a collegiate golfer—to an 82, giving him a two-round 157, and a tie for 51st. However, since he competed as an individual, his score did not factor into Fordham’s finish.
The next scoring finisher for Fordham was sophomore Mithran Denbow, who flipped the script on the previous three Rams. He started off with a brutal 84, the third-worst opening day score of the tournament. However, he followed that up by dropping nine strokes for a 75, giving him a two-round 159 and a tie for 61st.
The final two finishers for the Rams also finished towards the bottom of the leaderboard. Sophomore Dean Cermido was rather consistent, pairing an 82 with an 83 for a 165 and a tie for 82nd. Senior Tommy Hayes brought up the rear, shooting an 80 and an 86 for a 166 final score and a tie for 84th.
The Rams 621 points put them in 11th.
“It was just nice to end on a high note,” said Madarang.
While the official schedule has yet to be posted on the Fordham Athletics site, the Rams traditionally kick off the second half of their season in the spring at the Lehigh Valley Collegiate Invite. Last season, the Rams finished sixth in the tournament.
With Madarang and his crew of fresh faces having logged a half season worth of play, things may finally be trending upward come springtime.
