For most Tufts teams, losing four seniors to graduation would be considered a minimal blow, one that can be overcome as long as upperclassmen improve as players and as leaders to fill the void.
Things aren't that simple for the golf team, which is now without four of its top golfers from the past several years.
Coach Bob Sheldon — also the men's basketball coach — carried nine players on his roster last season, but only five players are allowed to compete at matches. Three of those five were tri−captains in 2010−11: Luke Heffernan, Dan Moll and Cal Shapiro, as well as Lindsay Walker, all of whom graduated in the spring. Heffernan, Moll and Shapiro started every match for four years.
Now, the Jumbos are left with no seniors, one junior and four sophomores, in addition to three freshman recruits who are likely to make the team when tryouts end on Friday.
"We're a pretty young team," Mike McCarthy, the lone junior, said. "But this is definitely a year we should be able to build on, and hopefully we'll do really well by the end of this year and going into next year."
The returning golfers will be counted on to carry the squad. Sophomore Sebastian Vik, who was a starter last season, along with McCarthy, who saw limited match time, will occupy two of the five starting spots.
"[Mike] played a lot as a freshman, but last year, because of classes and because some of the seniors got a little better, he didn't play very much," Sheldon said. "But he's ready to step into a big role this year to lead us."
The final three spots are up for grabs. Sheldon hopes that sophomores Alex Friedman, Drew Lewis and Tim Martin will all step up, but there is certainly an opportunity for a freshman to snag a spot as well. Lewis is also a copy editor for the Daily.
Sheldon does not impose a specific offseason regimen, but he does encourage his players to enter tournaments over the summer.
"We had three or four freshmen last year and they're all coming back," he said. "And, depending on how their summers went, that will kind of determine how our season goes."
It will be up to those returners to set an example for this year's newcomers, according to McCarthy.
"Golf is definitely an individual sport," McCarthy said. "But at the same time, I think that we should be able to really instill some confidence in the freshmen and get them in the right mindset where they can go out and score well for Tufts."
The Jumbos' two most significant tournaments occur in the fall. The NESCAC qualifiers are on Oct. 1−2 at Wesleyan, and the New England Championships are on Oct. 16−18 in Brewster, Mass.
In 2010, Tufts faltered at both events, placing eighth out of 10 teams at NESCACs and 30th out of 37 at New Englands. Vik led the Jumbos at the conference match by scoring 79 on both days.
The top four teams at NESCACs play against each other in the spring, with the winner advancing to NCAAs, although the highest the Jumbos have ever placed is fifth. And while placing in the top four is always something the team strives for, Sheldon has a different goal in mind.
"We'd like to shoot 320 or below every match," he said. "That's an average of 80 [between the four scores that are counted]. That will put us in the top 25 percent pretty much in every match."
Once the season gets started this weekend, Tufts will have matches every Saturday and Sunday until New Englands. The Jumbos also practice three days a week at Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover, Mass., typically playing 18 holes twice a week and going to the driving range once.
