The Jumbo's golf team finished in sixth place out of 11 spots this past weekend in the NESCAC championships at Williams College's Taconic Golf Course.
Once again the Williams Ephs were runaway winners, and the victory was the Ephs' third NESCAC championship in the last three years. In their three-peat performance, the Ephs placed three players on the All-NESCAC First Team, landing the one, four, and five slots on the first team.
While Tufts was only a middle-of-the-pack team in the NESCAC, the Jumbos did have a pair of outstanding individual performances. Sophomore Brad Hawes and junior Dan Kramer both scored All-NESCAC Second Team honors.
The Jumbos were able to finish in sixth place despite missing one of their top three golfers - junior Elliot Barr - who is abroad this semester.
For the tournament, Hawes (76,83) and Kramer (79,80) led the way on the two-day, par-71 course. Senior Eric Muhlanger shot 87,85 while juniors Arun Lamba and Brian Tarmey had an 84, 83 and 83, 91, respectively. Since four out of the top five scores count, Muhlanger's day-one 87 and Tarmey's 91 on day two were discarded.
Based on the high scores, it was clear the team was not completely comfortable with the course.
"The greens were really fast," Brad Hawes said. "Very tough."
While the Jumbos were not thrilled with their overall performance, they were not heartbroken either.
"It was good but could have been better," junior Dan Kramer said. Echoing Kramer's sentiments was Hawes. "We didn't play our best golf."
Interestingly, after a solid first round of golf, the Jumbos' scores tended to increase in the second round. "We didn't step it up the second day" junior Arun Lamba said.
Tarmey and Hawes suffered the biggest drop-offs from day one to day two. The pair scored 83 and 76, respectively, in the first round but increased their scores by eight and seven strokes, respectively, in the second. These jumps played a large role in the Jumbos' tumble from fifth place, and three strokes out of the third after round one, to their eventual sixth place finish.
Nevertheless, the squad can take solace in the knowledge that with everybody playing to their potential, the team can improve its results in the upcoming tournaments.
"We've got seven or eight guys who are capable of shooting 70's and low 80's in practice," Lamba said. "We want to bring our combined score under 320 for a single day."
The team and its coach, Bob Sheldon, seemed to be in agreement about the squad's most glaring flaw. "Five guys need to step it up at the same time," Kramer said. "It's a question of getting five guys to play well at once."
"We need to find out who the best five are, because we need some more depth," Sheldon said. "I'm looking to find a few more scorers in the 70's."
The team must now look forward to its two remaining tournaments, the Western New England Tournament, to be held on Thursday, Oct. 11, and the New England Championships on Oct. 22-23. The New England tournament will feature 48 teams from Divisions I, II, and III and from public and private universities. It is considered one of the most elite collegiate golf tournaments in New England.
"I'd be happy with a top 20 performance," Sheldon said.
Tufts will also compete in a match play against Salem State on a date to be determined. During match play, one golfer is matched against the other and whoever gets a lower score on a particular hole wins that hole. Most tournaments are played in the stroke play format, where the team's total strokes are totaled.
