The Jumbos found out just how fickle the golf gods can be this weekend.
Coming off a solid performance at the Bowdoin Invitational last week, the team fell below expectations this week, finishing 16th out of 25 teams at the Duke Nelson Classic. The finish was second-to-last among NESCAC teams participating in the tournament.
The 23rd Annual Duke Nelson Classic was held at the Ralph Myhre Golf Course on the Middlebury campus this past weekend. Skidmore was the top-scoring team, with a total team score of 591. NYU (593) narrowly took second and Salem State (597) rounded out the top three. The best score of the weekend belonged to Salem State senior All-American Matt Baran who shot two rounds at even par to collect a 144.
For the Jumbos, the tournament proved frustrating.
"It was a tough weekend for the team," junior Mike O'Neill said. "It was a pretty easy track and we expected to play well on it. Second-to-last among NESCAC teams isn't the finish we were looking for. We had every opportunity to step up and we just didn't take advantage."
While the team struggled with its overall play and has suffered setbacks from injuries to key players, senior Matt Linde boosted Tufts with his solid performance. Linde shot an opening-round 81 and countered with a 74 to post a total of 155. The senior's strong performance, particularly in the second round, offers encouraging signs for him and for the team moving forward.
Linde was followed closely by senior Justin Meier, who shot a 159 despite suffering from tendonitis, and sophomore David Hunt who swung for 162.
The team faces another tough tournament next weekend, but their focus looks further into the future.
"Our main focus is on the NESCAC championship at Bowdoin," O'Neill said. "We are really gearing up for that."
There is no doubt that the Jumbos will continue to face staunch competition from their division opponents as they look to improve upon their fifth-place finish last year. Middlebury, Hamilton, and Williams all finished in the top 10 at last year's Duke Nelson competition.
"Hamilton and Middlebury are very solid teams," O'Neill said. "After that it seems to be pretty even, but right now they just seem to be a step up."
For now Tufts will have to concentrate on title defense. Next weekend the Jumbos will travel to Colby for the Sid Farr Classic, which they won last year. Another strong performance could give the team a boost it needs to move forward.
"Having won the Sid Farr and having had the [best-scoring player] there is a boost for us going in," O'Neill said. "Hopefully getting back there will spark some good memories and allow us to defend our title and gain some momentum."
This weekend marks an important tournament for junior David Hunt, who posted the tournament's low score in 2005, in particular. Hunt's score of 75 last year translated into a Tufts win, and all eyes will be on the junior to spark the team out of the Duke Nelson funk.
"I felt comfortable with my game [last year]," Hunt said. "Some days you hit good shots and some days you don't. That day I had a good result. Sure, I feel a little pressure not to mess it up this year, but I also feel confident about this course. I have improved since then so I'm looking for another good score."
Successfully defending last year's title will require low scores from all team members and a sizeable step up from the team's Duke Nelson Classic performance.
"I don't think anyone was happy with the way we played last weekend," Hunt said. "But we're going to practice hard and hopefully we'll do better next time out."
