September 19, 2013
The Hamilton men’s golf team is only two tournaments into its fall season, yet Greg Scott ’14 is already anticipating that, “this team could really make some noise in the next few weeks.” Scott, a three-time NESCAC All-Conference and All-Region honoree, is one of four returning golfers who competed for the Continentals in the 2013 NESCAC Championship in the spring, in which they finished third at the qualifier. The loss of strong seniors, though disappointing, has not worried the 2013-2014 team. “Others have stepped up to fill [their spots],” Matt Yung ’16, the 2012-13 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, said.
So far, the men have seen a promising start, finishing fourth at Skidmore’s Tim Brown Invitational and, most recently, fifth at Middlebury’s Duke Nelson Invitational last weekend. The team finished the first day of the tournament in the lead of 22 teams by one stroke. Scott and Yung shot an even par 70, Mac Pivirotto ’15 shot 74, Chris Bousquet ’16 shot 77 and John “Gipper” Gailor ’15 shot 86. In total, the men finished with a score of 291, the most impressive record by a Hamilton College men’s team in a single tournament.
Unfortunately, Hamilton was unable to maintain its strong lead—the team finished a disappointing seven strokes behind winning team Middlebury after a tough second day of tournament. Head Coach Steve Stetson, however, views this loss as a sign of the potential the current team has for future competitions.
“A seven shot deficit for a four man team is a very small differential…The guys will learn from this and realize that at this level very little separates the winner from fourth or fifth place team.”
The unexpected drop in ranks did not discourage Scott either. He said, “It was promising to see our hard work and practice pay off. Our energy level was awesome! The parent and fan support was great and made it a really fun weekend. All of our guys left…excited to take our success and knowledge to Williams this week!
The Hamilton scores for the Sunday of the Middlebury Tournament were Scott 74, Pivirotto 76, Bousquet 80, Gailor 82 and Yung 84.
This upcoming weekend, the Continentals will compete in the Williams Invitational. The team’s final scores each tournament will determine whether or not Hamilton will compete at the NESCAC 2014 Spring Championship, the qualifier for which will be held in two weeks at Bowdoin. “Who knows, maybe we can go low enough to win the darn thing,” Scott said. He has great confidence in the team’s abilities to accomplish this feat this season. According to the veteran champion, “It just takes a little bit of courage, some hard work, and the constant reminder to play one shot at a time.”
For coaches and team members alike, the 2013 fall season for men’s golf has great potential to be a significant success for the Continentals. As they have such a short fall season, the team must capitalize on each opportunity. But they are ready and eager to face each tournamnet. Perhaps Bousquet most proudly captured the team’s enthusiasm for their next tournament at Williams College and the other competitions that lie ahead when he said, “this could be our best year yet.”
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