But after another weekend in Williamstown and another disappointing performance at Taconic Golf Club, it looks like the youthful Jeffs will have to wait until next year.
At the Northeast District Shoot-Out, Amherst shot 334-328-662 to finish in seventh place out of 12 teams. Skidmore College jumped out to a six-stroke lead after one day of competition, and was able to fend off a feisty St. Lawrence University squad on Sunday, edging St. Lawrence by three strokes.
The Jeffs were again paced by junior captain Justin Sharaf, who continued his hot play of late, firing 77-78-155. His score of 13-over for the weekend left him in a tie for ninth place. Kyle Rank of St. Lawrence took home first-place honors with a torrid even-par 71-71-142.
Sharaf needed more help than he got. "Justin has been an inspiration to us all with his great performances time and time again," said Andy Bruns '07. "Unfortunately, none of us have been able to measure up this spring."
Sean Jules '07 recovered from an opening-round 85 to shoot 79 on Sunday. He finished in a tie for 30th. Dave Litt '06 (84-85-169) tied for 43rd place and Bruns (88-86-174) also competed for the Jeffs. Mike Valentine '05 (89-86-175) saw his first action of the spring, but his score did not count toward the Jeffs' aggregate.
Saturday, Sharaf relied on a hot putter to get up and down. He needed only 13 putts on the front nine and 17 on the back. His ball-striking was not nearly as pure on Sunday, he said, nor his putting as good (he took 36 putts), but he still managed to post a 78.
The team, which will not lose a golfer to graduation, expressed disappointment that its experience at Taconic did not translate into a more competitive showing.
Valentine, for one, struggled with his swing, and has been all spring. His problems with his swing mechanics have no doubt been exacerbated by the academic conflicts which prevented him from playing in a tournament setting until the Shoot-Out.
"I was certainly disappointed with my performance," he said. "The conditions were incredibly difficult on Saturday. That said, I didn't play much better on Sunday."
Bruns took a more light-hearted tone. "I caught the most dreaded disease known to golfers-the shanks," he joked about his Williams performance. But while "this spring was pretty disappointing," he said, "seeing the huge 'A' burned into the Ephs' football field puts a smile on my face every time."
The Jeffs conclude their season at the Little Three Championships today. In what they hope to be a harbinger of things to come, Monday, Bruns aced the 160-yard fourth hole at Amherst Golf Club for his second career hole-in-one.