By Jimmy Sullivan
Fordham Men’s Golf has had a long week.
After last week’s Wildcat Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, in which the Rams finished ninth, Fordham traveled to New Haven, Conn. to participate in the one-day, 36-hole Yale Spring Invitational. Fordham struggled at the same course in the fall, finishing twelfth of 14 teams at the Macdonald Invitational from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1.
The Rams would fare slightly better on Saturday, but not nearly well enough to compete for a victory.
Under evolving, dampening and deteriorating conditions, Fordham finished ninth out of 16 teams on Saturday at the Course at Yale. The Rams started off the day strong and were tied for sixth after 18 holes with a 15-over 295 team round. The leaders in the clubhouse after one round were seniors James Mongey and Joseph Trim, who shot 73 and 70, respectively. Also competing for Fordham were senior Matt Schiller and sophomore Tomas Nieves, both of whom shot a 76 in the first round. Also playing individually for the Rams were juniors Josh Madarang, who shot a first-round 77, and Tommy Hayes, who shot an 80. The Rams were playing solid golf after round one, but could they sustain their solid start?
The answer was no.
Fordham fell off in round two and pulled in with a tied-for-ninth finish. Trim struggled in his final 18 holes, and his 70 was followed by an eight-over 78. Mongey shot a second-round 75 and Schiller fired an 81. The only Ram competing on the team level to improve on his round one performance was Nieves, who finished the tournament at ten-over after shooting a 74 in the final round. Madarang and Hayes shot 85 and 82, respectively. Tennessee University ultimately won the tournament; the Volunteers took the championship by 11 strokes over second-place and host school Yale University.
Next, the Rams moved on to the Rhode Island Invitational on Monday and Tuesday. Monday’s round was cancelled due to the day’s generally wicked weather, and the tournament was reduced to 36 holes on Tuesday. This time, Fordham got off to a slow start but improved in the second round. The team shot a 304 in the first round, and Schiller found himself second on the individual leaderboard with a first-round 72. “I went back to the basics this week,” Schiller said. “I had a rough weekend at Yale, so I just made sure I was getting set up correctly before shots and putts. It made a world of difference.” Trim and Madarang both shot 78s, while Mongey finished his first round with a 76. Nieves and Hayes competed as individuals; the former shot a 79 while the latter shot a 78. In the second round, the team fared slightly better.
Schiller finished his strong 36-hole showing with a 74, and his two-round 146 tied him for 5th on the individual leaderboard. Trim followed his 78 with a 73, Madarang shot 75 and Mongey finished his day with a 79. Nieves shot 76 and Hayes fired a 75 as individuals. Fordham finished the Rhode Island Invitational in seventh place and Rhode Island University, the host school, tied for the tournament victory with Rollins College. Fordham finished 17 strokes off the leaders.
Fordham’s regular season is now complete; they will compete at the Atlantic 10 Championships in Orlando, Florida from April 27 to 29. “The best way for us to succeed is to just go for it,” Schiller said. “We’ve been a little underrated in the projected finishes over the past few years, and we take a lot of motivation from that. We’re also a group of guys that weren’t heavily recruited either, so that underdog mentality can really drive our play. We don’t have anything to lose, so I think we can really shock some people in a couple weeks.”
Fordham finished seventh among the 11 teams that competed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament last season. The Rams are looking to do better than that this season, but they will need to improve upon their performances from this weekend if they want to make serious noise in Orlando.
