Sports
Men’s golf finishes third in Division II tournament
By Max Newman ’16
April 10, 2015
The Hamilton men’s golf team has high expectations this spring season. Coming off a strong start in the fall with a second place showing at the NESCAC Golf Championship Qualifier, the team is determined to win this season’s NESCAC tournament and qualify for the NCAA tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina on May 12.
The team opened the season against St. Lawrence University at St. Lucie Trail GC in Port St. Lucie, Florida. They competed in match-play format that featured five foursomes. The Saints defeated the Continentals 3-2, with Riley Burgess ’18 and Gipper Gailor ’15 winning their matches on the men’s side. In the match, Gailor sunk a fifteen foot par putt on the 18th hole to beat their St. Lawrence counterparts. Altough the Burgess/Gailor pairing won their match, Nate Kremer ’18 and Matt Yung ’16 lost in a tie break to lose the event.
The trip proved to be a great opportunity for improvement as the team spent every day working on the range and the course to prepare for the season.
Though the men could not pull out a win in their season-opener, the team remains focused on the main goal of the season: qualify for NCAA’s. “We have a lot of potential this year,” Matt Yung ’16 said.
If we keep working hard and believing, we can make it to nationals.”
After a few weeks off, Yung and the team showed their determination as they bounced back in their match on April 4. The team placed third out of 13 teams at the 2015 Dowling College Men’s Golf Memorial Tournament in Shoreham, New York.
Hamilton and Farmingdale State College were the only Division III teams at the tournament, Farmingdale having competed in the NCAA championships last season. The two teams upset the field as they tied for third place.
Joe Tigani ’18 played a key role in the team’s success. Tigani placed seventh out of the 69 golfers with a score of 153. His even par-71 was the best round by any Continental at the tournament. Bayard Geeslin ’16 and Mac Pivirotto ’15 tied for 20th place at 157.
Yung also had a notable performance with high winds, taking 26th place at 158 with rounds of 78 and 80.
The team hopes to continue the momentum as they prepare for the New York University/Manhattanville College Spring Invitational at Forest Hill Field Club on April 11 and 12.
The team will be using these next few weekends to prepare for the upcoming NESCAC Championship. In the fall, Hamilton lost to Middlebury by one stroke in the NESCAC qualifier, but will look to enact revenge when they meet at the end of April.
The NESCAC Championship will be held at Middlebury College on April 25 and 26. The Contintals hope to take down the Panthers, who defeated them for first place and a spot at nationals last season.