Homecoming Saturday was a big day for Tufts athletics this year, as football, both soccer teams, field hockey and volleyball picked up key wins.
Unfortunately for the golf team, it had to tee it up for another round on Sunday.
After charging out to second place after the first day of play at the NESCAC Golf Championships at Bowdoin on Saturday, the Jumbos fell to seventh after the final round. The ending proved a disappointing one, as Tufts fell from its fifth place finish at the 2005 competition.
The Jumbos had high expectations as they headed to Bowdoin this past weekend, and the team came out firing on the first day of play. Led by senior Matt Linde's two-over 74, Tufts ended the first day just one shot behind Williams, which entered the tournament seeking its third straight NESCAC title.
Linde was the best of four Jumbos who scored in the 70s on Saturday.
"The first day was one of our best tournament rounds in competition," senior Justin Meier said. "I don't think we've been in that position before. We were really hyped up heading into Sunday's round."
But Sunday brought a different fate for the frontrunners. Teeing off in the afternoon, the leading teams ran into adverse conditions and mounting pressure. The Jumbos opted to maintain the style of play that had worked so effectively on Saturday.
"We were trying to be a bit conservative on Sunday," Linde said. "The conditions were tough, and we were unlucky to tee off in the afternoon. We didn't change our strategy. We tried to play our game, but we just couldn't get it done."
Linde, who led the tournament after the first day, ran into some problems of his own.
"I got off to a poor start on Sunday and couldn't recover from it," he said. "I was playing in a group with some of the top players. They started off really strong, and I couldn't get it together in the conditions we were playing in. It was a rough way to go out."
While Sunday proved troublesome for Tufts and Williams, the good morning conditions allowed Middlebury to rebound from seventh after day one to capture the title. The Panthers ended Sunday tied with Trinity, but a lower score from their fifth-seeded player gave them the championship. Following Trinity were Williams and Hamilton in third and fourth, respectively.
Medalist Honors, given to the player with the lowest score for the tournament, went to Trinity freshman Reid Longley, who posted scores of 75 and 72 for a total of 147. Middlebury sophomore Harrison Bane lost to Longley by a single stroke, giving Bane his second consecutive individual second-place finish at the NESCACs.
The Jumbos were left looking for answers on Sunday afternoon, frustrated at the discrepancy between their first and second rounds.
"On the second day, it got cold, and the pin placements were much more difficult," Meier said. "[The tournament officials] wanted to make sure the best team won, but it didn't make it easy to score at all."
The potential of taking first place at the tournament and possibly advancing to the NCAA tournament appeared to weigh heavily on the minds of the Jumbos after the first day, adding to the factors that led to the team's tumble from second place.
"I think we wanted it too badly," Linde said. "The harder you try, the harder it gets out there. It just didn't happen for us."
The squad will look to put last weekend behind them as they travel to Penobscot Valley for the Husson Invitational this weekend. The Husson College golf team has not finished lower than second in any tournament this year.
GOLFat NESCAC Tournament, Bowdoin College
Tufts 7th of 10
M. Linde: 74 Round 1, 82 Round 2
