October 4, 2012
“It was like the team was competing for the Ryder Cup instead of the NESCAC Qualifying title,” insisted Knute Gailor ’13, in reference to the Hamilton men’s golf team’s recent tournament at Amherst College this past weekend. While the Continentals may not have been among the professional athletes playing in the famous competition this past Saturday, Sept. 29th and Sunday, Sept. 30th, their performances demonstrated the team’s strong potential in the NESCAC golf league.
As heavy rain fell upon the Hickory Ridge Golf Club at Amherst on Friday, the men pushed through an 18-hole practice round to test the course prior to the competition. Though the conditions were grueling, Coach Steven Stetson explained that they proved to be beneficial for the Continentals. “I was extremely impressed with the demeanor and perseverance the players showed,” he said. “We were the only team in the field to practice in those conditions that day. Several teams walked a few holes to get a glimpse of the course, but no others played. Our team felt that gave us an edge on day one. We felt relatively comfortable with the course.”
While the weather only improved slightly on Saturday for the first round of the NESCAC Qualifying Tournament, the teammates were confident that the practice they had had the day before would help them in their performance that day.
The men played with even greater skill than they had anticipated in such conditions. The Continentals competed against the other NESCAC schools with great success, finishing the day in second place with a combined score of 306. Notably, Matt Yung ’16 carded the low score of 73, putting him in first place at the end of Round One. He notes that as a freshman, “it was unexpected” to place first and he “just wanted to play well.”
Close behind him, and tied in third place with a score of 75, was “Big” Mac Pivirotto ’15. Greg Scott ’14 also finished well with a 77, and both Julian Ophals ’14 and Chris Bousquet ’16 shot an 81. By the end of the day, Hamilton was in second place, just two strokes behind Trinity.
Round Two also proved to be successful for the team, with Pivirotto and Ophals taking control of the course. Pivirotto shot 75, 76 and finished sixth out of 50 golfers for the event. Impressed by his performance, Coach Stetson said, “[Mac] has a world of talent, hits the ball prodigious distances and did better than all of our guys. He still has more in the tank and with consistency and confidence could be a very consistently high performer.”
Having improved drastically since the day before, Ophals played against two golfers ranked numbers one and two, and he tied both of them with a 73. Scott, who, according to Coach Stetson, has “been doing his thing ever since he started carrying a Hamilton golf bag,” and Yung, who earned the NESCAC title of Rookie of the Year due to his 11th place finish, also played excellent second rounds. The final member of the team, Bousquet, improved on the second day of the tournament and demonstrated to his coach and to his team his ability to play consistently.
Ending with a final team score of 611, the Hamilton men’s golf team finished in third place, only a few points away from leaders Trinity and Williams.
Coach Stetson praised the team, noting that, “we…found that we have some gritty guys who compete hard and persevere through tough weather and tough competition.” In fact, such a feat is a significant accomplishment for Hamilton and serves as motivation for the team to continue towards even greater success.
By finishing in third place with a total score of 611, the Hamilton Continentals earned a coveted spot in the NCAA League Championship this spring. The winner of this tournament will represent the NESCAC schools in the NCAA tournament.
Initially, the team’s only goal was to qualify for the spring tournament. This weekend, however, the Continentals achieved even more. Their performance surpassed that of Middlebury, who went on to compete in the NCAA tournament last year.
“Our…finish in a competitive field gives us great momentum heading into our final home tournament next weekend,” Gailor proudly stated.
Though the team is sorry to see the season end, their excitement at playing at home is undeniable. When the men’s team is welcomed back home for the Hamilton Invitational this Fallcoming Weekend, the team will be encouraged and motivated to defend its home turf. Make the Hamilton alumni proud, boys!