After a fall campaign that saw the golf team tie for 30th out of 37 competitors at the New England Championships last October, the Jumbos returned to action this spring with respectable showings in three tournaments: the Worcester State Invitational on Tuesday in Worcester, Mass.; the Western New England College (WNEC) Invitational last Thursday in Springfield, Mass.; and the Hampton Inn Invitational the weekend of April 9−10 in North Dartmouth, Mass.
"We did a little better," coach Bob Sheldon said. "We played in three tournaments and were in the top half in all three. It was a solid showing."
The team, which is composed of four seniors and one freshman, finished its season strong by placing seventh out of 18 teams at the Worcester State Invitational, shooting a combined score of 331 in cold, windy conditions. Salem State emerged victorious at the event with a score of 313. Senior tri−captain Cal Shapiro and senior Lindsay Walker led the way with rounds of 81. Senior tri−captain Dan Moll also posted an impressive mark, recording an 84. Shapiro's score would have been lower were it not for one tough hole in the front nine.
"Cal shot an 81, which is good for him," Sheldon said. "He was one−under through seven holes, and then he shot a nine on one hole, so if you took that hole out his score would have been even better."
The harsh conditions, along with some overgrown fairways, worked against Tufts, minimizing the team's strength: driving the ball.
"We're a big hitting team, a team of long−ball hitters," Sheldon said. "Lindsay Walker was a hockey player for three years and he leads us off with a slap shot off the tee. Shorter courses help us out a little bit."
Last Thursday, Tufts placed sixth out of 12 teams at the WNEC Invitational, totaling 323 with their top four scores to place them just four strokes behind the fourth−place finisher, UMass−Dartmouth. WNEC won the tournament on its home course with a score of 307.
In their first tournament of the spring season on April 9−10, the Jumbos shook off some rust after a short preseason and finished eighth out of 18 teams at the Hampton Inn Invitational. Tufts had a two−day score of 676 and Moll led the way, placing ninth individually out of a field of 88 golfers and shooting a team−low 79 in his Saturday round. Salem State won with a two−day total of 637.
"It's tough the way the season works up here," Sheldon said. "We don't have a spring trip, so we start playing two days before the first tournament."
For a team stocked with seniors, Tuesday's result marked a culmination of an era. For Shapiro and Walker, finishing with the same score was a symbol of their camaraderie over long careers.
"There's very little competition among us," Walker said. "It's a good group of guys and we like to see each other perform well."
Sheldon said he will miss this group of seniors.
"These guys have been with me for four years," Sheldon said. "They're pretty close; three of them live together, and they know what to expect from me. That will be hard to replace."
The golf program will rebuild next year behind freshman Sebastian Vik — who gained valuable playing experience this season — and a deep class of incoming players.
"We have three freshmen coming in who I know about, and Sebastian got some good experience, so the future of the program is bright," Sheldon said. "We're excited."
Tuesday, however, belonged to the senior class. Fittingly, senior tri−captain Luke Heffernan, who shot a season−worst 93, closed out his career by birdying the final hole of his round on Tuesday.
"He didn't have his best day," Sheldon said. "But it was not a bad way for him to end things."
