By Sam Belden
This season has already been a banner one for Fordham Golf. Two weeks ago, the program captured its first victory in nearly four years at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of the Lehigh Valley Collegiate Invitational. While the Rams have not been able to sustain their winning form since then, they have continued to hold their own against tough competition. In the past week, the team finished 10th at the Yale Spring Invitational and fifth at the Rhode Island Invitational.
At Yale, the team posted rounds of 307 and 317 to finish near the back of the 13-team pack. Only one Fordham player, sophomore Matt Schiller, found the top 25. While Ivy League schools are almost always stiff competition for the Rams, the result was slightly disappointing — at last fall’s Macdonald Cup, also held at the Course at Yale, the team notched an eighth place finish.
Schiller led the way for the Rams, shooting twin 75s en route to a tie for 12th. Freshman Tommy Hayes tied for 39th, while sophomore Joseph Trim was one stroke behind in a tie for 42nd. Sophomore James Mongey and freshman Josh Madarang rounded out the counting scores for the Rams, both finishing outside of the top 50.
The Fordham contingent also included two individuals: juniors Fernando Morett and Oscar Cabanas, who tied for 51st and 61st, respectively.
Yale’s B-lineup won the event, shooting a final round 291 to surge from sixth place to first. Bucknell, Dartmouth and Yale’s A-lineup finished one, two and three strokes behind, respectively, making it one of the most hotly contested events on Fordham’s schedule in recent memory.
John Lazor of Dartmouth was the medalist, signing for rounds of 73 and 70 to win by three strokes over Bucknell’s John Edler and Yale’s Joe Willis. First round leader Luke Waggoner of Villanova could not maintain his pace after an opening 72, shooting a 77 in the final round to fall into a tie for ninth.
In Rhode Island, Fordham turned in a better performance, shooting scores of 293, 299 and 304 en route to a fifth place finish. This time, it was Trim who led the way for the Rams, signing for two rounds of 74 and one of 73 to tie for eighth.
Three other Rams finished in the top 25: Schiller, Hayes and Mongey, who tied for 19th, 21st and 25th, respectively. Madarang also played and tied for 38th. Cabanas and Morett, playing as individuals once again, tied for 31st and 48th, respectively.
Bryant University cruised to the victory, winning by a margin of 20 strokes over Rhode Island and Wagner. Rhode Island’s Billy Walthouse shot a 67 in the opening round and went wire-to-wire, claiming medalist honors by two strokes over McKinley Slade of Bryant.
This weekend, the Rams will play their penultimate event of the season at the Til Duty is Done Collegiate Invitational, hosted by the University of Connecticut. After that, the only remaining event is the Atlantic 10 Championship, held this year at the Villas of Grand Cyprus in Orlando.
“We need to tighten up our game and we’ll be ready for [the next event],” said Cabanas. “I think we’re going to peak just in time for A-10s in two weeks.”
The Til Duty is Done Collegiate Invitational commences on Saturday morning at Mohegan Sun Golf Club.
