One would expect a team that had yet to complete tryouts or name a captain to be in disarray. But the Tufts golf team overcame such hurdles with ease last weekend when they won the Bowdoin Invitational.
The Jumbos placed first out of nine teams at the tournament, held at Brunswick Country Club in Brunswick, Maine. The top four Tufts players combined for a two-day score of 640, a number that coach Bob Sheldon was extremely pleased with.
"It was a great feeling," Sheldon said. "It was our first tournament and the guys had only been out on the course a couple of times so far."
The outstanding performance by Tufts took place despite the fact that the team is still in the midst of tryouts.
"We've only had two days of tryouts and they will continue next week," Sheldon said. "The date for this particular tournament was very early."
Sheldon was "quite happy" that Tufts played so well against numerous competitive NESCAC rivals, including Colby, Bates, Bowdoin and Middlebury.
Two sophomores stood out and helped lead Tufts to the strong finish. Matt Linde shot 77-80, which was good enough to place second individually in the tournament. Justin Meier was only one shot behind Linde, posting a 76-82.
Both players contributed to the Jumbos last season in smaller roles.
"Justin Meier really worked hard over the summer," Sheldon said. "He played in 18 tournaments over the course of the summer which helped his game."
The coach was equally happy with what he saw from his other golfers.
"Matt Linde and Arjun Chawla were very good players last year and they have improved as well," Sheldon said. "We're expecting big things this year."
Chawla, also a sophomore, shot 84-85. Junior Sebastian Gonzalez chipped in with an 83-81. Freshman David Hunt shot 81-80.
Hunt, hailing from Boxford, Massachusetts, competed in a variety of tournaments over the summer on the New England PGA Junior Tour.
"It felt awesome to be out there already representing Tufts," Hunt said. "The guys on the team are great and so is the coach. I'm definitely excited to be on the team and we have a bunch of talented players, so I think we've got a lot of potential."
While the transition for freshmen golfers can be very difficult because the Jumbos do not have access to a home course, Hunt showed only a few signs of rust.
"I think I can play a little bit better," he said. "It's hard going from playing all the time in the summer to playing three days in three weeks. I had 34 putts each round, which is terrible, so if I can improve on that I'll lower my score."
Hunt is just one of many talented freshmen that should be seeing action at some point for the Jumbos.
Even though the rosters are not fully formed, Sheldon said that Hunt's performance in early tryouts warranted a spot in the tournament.
"This is the most competitive tryout since I've been here," Sheldon said. "We've got 18 guys trying out right now for ten spots, and 12 of those players have shot under 80. That's very, very good."
A team captain will be named later in the season when the roster is final.
One minor setback for the Jumbos was the decision of junior Dan Weinbeck not to go out for the team. Weinbeck was the NESCAC Freshman Player of the Year in 2002 and a staple of the team last year, but he decided to get a job this year instead of playing golf.
The Jumbos hope to carry their play into this weekend when they compete Saturday and Sunday at the Taconic Golf Course in the Williams Invitational. The lineup may change next weekend depending on what happens in tryouts, but the Jumbos will have high expectations for the tournament regardless of who's playing.
"There will certainly be some good teams at Williams this weekend," Sheldon said. "But with our depth we feel we can compete with any team in New England."
