No happy ending here.
Mired by a lack of practice and tough conditions, the golf team could not break through against strong competition on Monday and Tuesday at Captains Golf Course in Brewster, Mass. and finished the 72nd annual New England Intercollegiate Golf Association Championship tied for 22nd with Western New England College.
"It was definitely another disappointment for us," senior co-captain Matt Linde said. "The conditions were really tough. We hit the ball well, but we had trouble on the greens, and it led to a mediocre performance on our part."
The tournament ended an underachieving 2006 season in which the Jumbos fell short of preseason expectations and were unable to pull out any dominating performances in big tournaments.
"On paper, we're a good team," senior co-captain Justin Meier added. "But we need to emphasize the mental aspect of the game more."
The tournament featured teams from Divs. I, II and III, with the University of Rhode Island's total score of 588 leading the pack. The Rams featured three players in the top 20, with senior Ben Spitz earning medalist honors for having the best total score in the tournament for his 1-under 143. Bryant College headed the Div. II teams at 630, and NESCAC opponent Trinity grabbed the Div. III accolade with a score of 620.
"The biggest difference between the divisions is depth," Meier said. "Lower-seeded players [at Div. I schools] are as good as the top players on other teams. The other divisions are closer to one another in talent, and the scores reflect all those things."
Meier turned in the Jumbos' best individual performance, taking 34th. On Monday, he notched a 79 on the course, a Par 72, followed by a 77 on Tuesday.
"This is the first time I've played better on the second day than the first," Meier said. "I've been injured for most of the season, and it was a harder course and difficult conditions, so I was pretty happy about things."
Linde finished tied for 63rd while senior Josh Bloomberg tied for 82nd, junior David Hunt tied for 163rd, and freshman Brad Dreisbach tied for 168th.
From here, the Jumbos must look toward the spring, the first time they will field a team during that season. In order to improve upon a disappointing fall campaign, the team needs more practice time and increased access to facilities. But without a convenient place to practice, and with New England weather hampering any early start to the spring season, the Jumbos find it hard to keep themselves on top of their game.
"This team has more talent than any team I've played on at Tufts," Linde said. "We don't have an easy place to practice as other teams do. We need to find a way to get in the hours to get us the confidence we need, particularly in the short game."
As the team looks toward the spring, it will continue to rely on the strong performance of seniors Linde, Meier and Bloomberg. Linde earned second team All-NESCAC honors this fall but remains unsatisfied with his personal performance.
"I've had a decent season; I haven't done anything special," Linde said. "I've put up some good scores, but not with two good rounds in a row. I thought if I had played well I could take a run at conference Player of the Year, but I didn't capitalize. I hope to put up some better numbers in the spring."
