The men's golf team's fall season ended much as it began, with a middling performance that gave reason for optimism-and for concern. At Monday's Toski Invitational at Hickory Ridge Country Club, the team's home course, the men finished sixth out of 12 teams, a combined 23 strokes behind the 10-over par 298 score of eventual winner Quinnipiac University. Amherst can take solace in finishing only four strokes behind third-place Harvard University.

Junior captain Justin Sharaf and sophomore David Litt did their part. The pair shot four-over par 76s, tying them for eighth place individually. Two scorers in the top eight were not enough, however, as an 82 and two 87s conspired to dash any hopes the Jeffs had of ending the fall season with a victory.

"While some players didn't have their best days, Dave and Justin really stepped up and played well in the rainy weather," said Keith Zalaski '06. Though Amherst was without the services of rookie standout Sean Jules, who could not play due to an academic conflict, the season-ending performance only highlighted the Jeffs' most glaring weakness this season: the inability of their fourth and fifth golfers to post solid scores.

With a dependable core of Sharaf, Jules and Litt, the Jeffs don't need anything spectacular from their fourth and fifth golfers. But until two more golfers emerge capable of shooting consistently low scores, the Jeffs' puzzle will remain incomplete, their national aspirations unfulfilled.