The Lord Jeffs finished only 13 strokes in back of eventual winner Clarkson University, despite junior captain Justin Sharaf's carding an uncharacteristic 45 on the back nine Saturday. Sharaf would fire a respectable 81 and rebound on Sunday with a 76-but at least personally, was left wondering "what could have been?"
Yet the men also have much to be heartened by. David Litt '06 paced the Jeffs with a two-day score of 153, including a stellar opening round of 73. "I missed a two-foot putt on the last hole, which would have tied me for the lead, but for my first competitive round in five months, I was thrilled," Litt said of his breakthrough ninth-place finish at Ralph Myhre Golf Course.
His second round of 80 was frustrating, he said, if only because "I actually hit the ball as well as the first day; I just couldn't putt." Nonetheless, Litt is confident that if he continues to play as he did this weekend, he can put two good rounds together. If this weekend is a harbinger of things to come, the Jeffs will have another dependable scorer in addition to their captain.
The day, however, belonged to the team, as Litt acknowledged. The team's second day 308 was its best score in over a year. Both freshmen Andy Bruns and Sean Jules overcame first-day nerves-and scores of 83 and 86, respectively-to shoot 76 on Sunday. "We are so young and inexperienced, but the freshmen really came back nicely," said Litt.
The women's two-day total of 676, meanwhile, left them ninth at the Dartmouth Invitational at Hanover Country Club. Junior captain Meg Sullivan (83-84) led the way, followed closely by Kathryn Kuchefski '04, whose 80 on Saturday was the Jeffs' low round of the tournament. Rookie Sarah Harper bounced back from a disappointing first round 91 with an 83.
"Although ninth place was in the middle of the pack, we placed ahead of all of the other Div. III teams and we finished with one of the lowest weekend scores that I can remember in my time here," said Sullivan.
The Jeffs return to action Saturday at the Bryant College Invitational, where the women finished third out of a field of 15 teams last year. The competition should provide a good barometer of how the team stacks up.