For six months, the members of the golf team have been waiting to get a bitter taste out of their mouths. Now, they're finally going to get that opportunity.
The Jumbos will begin their short spring season with the Hampton Inn Invitational this weekend, when they will have a chance to redeem themselves after finishing fifth at the NESCAC qualifier last October — just one spot short of the cutoff for the NESCAC Championship this spring. The Jumbos were in third place with a team score of 300 after the first day of play at the qualifier and found themselves just nine strokes behind leading Hamilton, but they stumbled to a 325 mark on Sunday and dropped out of qualifying position.
"We could've done better," junior Cal Shapiro said. "We had a really good shot at the top four, but then we didn't come out and do our thing on day two."
Though the spring season only consists of three tournaments, none of which hold any playoff significance, that does not mean the Jumbos are taking the schedule lightly. The team is aiming to gain some momentum heading into next fall, when it will get another crack at the NESCAC qualifier.
"I hope we can go out there and just put some good numbers up," Shapiro said. "The freshmen are building towards next fall, so that's what we're hungry for. Everything until then is just more practice, more tournament play."
"I would say [a goal would be] to place in one of the tournaments as a team," senior James Stone added. "And it would definitely be great to win one of the tournaments that we have."
Tufts will be a little short−handed this spring, as junior Danny Moll, consistently the team's No. 2 finisher this past fall, is abroad. But the Jumbos still have junior Luke Heffernan, who placed first among Tufts players in every fall tournament and who finished as high as ninth individually. Meanwhile, the team's five seniors — who comprise more than half of the nine−player team — will be looking to step up and contribute before they graduate.
"Luke Heffernan has always been our golden boy; we'll be riding his coattails a bit," Shapiro said. "Look for some big play out of [seniors] Jon Trott and James Stone. And we're expecting big things out of the Birdman [senior Brett Hershman]. Our big thing this season is to swing hard in case we hit it."
Tufts finished fifth out of 14 teams at the Hampton Inn Invitational last year, when Moll and Heffernan placed fifth and 14th, respectively, as individuals. While it will be hard to replicate that performance without Moll, the team is still excited to get back out on the course after such a long layover since the fall season.
"It's going to be tough without one of our star players, but we're going to try our best this weekend," Shapiro said. "We're looking to rebound."
According to Stone, the Hampton this weekend at the Allendale Country Club in North Dartmouth, Mass. should be the ideal tournament with which to begin the season.
"It's a pretty good course, and it's a two−day tournament, so that will help with getting back in shape for golf," he said. "And with the weather, it's a perfect time for us to have our first tournament."
Unlike most other spring squads, the golf team will not be playing for championship crowns, national berths or any other types of accolades in the coming weeks. But even though there is no ultimate prize to work toward, the Tufts team is more than motivated to demonstrate its abilities to the collegiate golf world.
"We would love to get some big finishes and show people what Jumbo golf is about," Shapiro said. "Look for some Jumbo domination at the Hampton Invitational."
