After a day of extremely solid play, the Jumbos found themselves in third place in a field of 42 teams at the New England Championships, trailing only the University of Rhode Island and the University of Connecticut, both Div. I teams.
If only the event had ended there.
On Tuesday, the golfers were confronted with severe winds for whic they had no answer, and the team produced a frustrating 344. The off-day dropped the Jumbos to 25th place overall at the event, held at the par-72 Port Captains/Starboard Course in Brewster, Mass.
Rhode Island and Connecticut fared much better in the wind. The Rams followed their collective first-round 306 with a 294, capturing first place in the championship with a two-day total of 600. UConn took second place with a 608.
Senior captain Brian Cawley of Salem State was the event's individual medalist, shooting a two-under 70 in the first round and following it up with a second-round 74 to finish par for the course with a 144. His mark was three strokes better than the 147 registered by the second-place finisher, senior Brian Travalja of UConn.
The Jumbos got off to a blazing start, as all four scorers on the first day shot in the 70s. Junior Phil Haslett stepped up his game tremendously, leading the team with a two-over 74. Haslett was followed by senior tri-captain Mike O'Neil and freshman Luke Heffernan, who both carded 77s.
Senior tri-captain Dave Hunt rounded out the scoring with a 79, while fellow senior tri-captain Pat Sullivan's score of 83 was not counted towards the team's total. The Jumbos benefited from an open course, which allowed them to utilize their drivers and vary their play.
"The course was in great shape and played really well," O'Neil said of the Cape Cod setting. "The Captain's Courses are a great facility, and we really enjoyed the beautiful location."
However, things took a turn for the worse on Day 2, as howling winds were a severe detriment to the Jumbos. Hunt and Heffernan tied for Tufts' lead, both registering 83s. O'Neil turned in an 85, and Sullivan rounded out the scoring with an 89.
Overall, Heffernan continued to impress, as his 16-over-par 160 led the team and was good for 72nd place overall. Hunt placed 86th with his mark of 162. Unfortunately for Tufts, the team's struggles on Tuesday cancelled out the low scores from the previous day and sent the Jumbos tumbling down in the overall standings.
"As easy as the first day was, the second day was just as hard," Hunt said. "No matter how well we played, the wind was absolutely raging, which made the course near impossible."
Despite the tough second day, the team maintained a positive outlook on the tournament, as well as the season in general.
"There were several bright spots to this tournament," Hunt said. "Phil had an outstanding tournament, shooting his best round of the year, and Luke once again proved that he is a consistent threat. Overall, I feel we played well, but the wind just got to us."
The tournament was the final step in a successful fall campaign. Though the Jumbos did not finish the season as well as they would have liked - they fell just short of qualifying for the conference championship in April - the team had several strong performances throughout the season.
"We had a lot of fun this year," Hunt said. It's my senior year, so you always feel like you could have done just a little bit better, but overall I'm really proud of this team."
The Jumbos now have all winter to rest and prepare for the spring season, for which the golfers have big plans.
"We are going to get in the gym and try to improve as much as possible this off-season," O'Neil said. "We have four or five tournaments on the docket this spring, and we think we can really make our mark and have a great season."
