The tournament boasted hearty competition, but Skidmore College was able to squeak to the top with a team score of 594. Nebraska Wesleyan University came in second with an identical 594; the winner was decided by the usually uncounted fifth score. The Ephs, who won the Duke Nelson Invitational last weekend over Skidmore, was beaten by the Thoroughbreds on their home course. It appears that the Ephs have found a new rival.
Meanwhile the Jeffs, in their second tournament of the season, are still searching for their travelling five, a worthwhile quest in view of the four additions to the roster this year. Once again, veterans Sean Jules '07 and classmate Andrew Bruns led the recruits to battle as they did last weekend. In fact, they led the team almost exactly as they did last weekend. Jules posted a 77-81-158; last weekend he shot a 76-82-158. Bruns shot an 81-78-159, cutting one stroke off his previous performance. The good news is that the Jeffs are finally showing some consistency. The bad news is that this consistency is largely mediocre and unrepresentative of the talent both players have shown in the past.
Head Coach Jack Arena chose to mix and match his team to find a winning combination. Two first-years, Glenn Wong and Will Collins, along with senior co-captain Keith Zalaski filled out the Duke Nelson roster. This week junior Drew Russ, sophomore Jesse Corradi and first-year Chris Valentine got the nod. Unfortunately, this week the mix resulted in a higher team score than last. Russ posted an encouraging score Saturday, becoming just the third Jeff to break 80, but ended the tournament with a disappointing 85 on Sunday. Corradi, who got a look at Taconic last year, wasn't able to capitalize on his experience. His 82-87-169 matched the scores of Zalaski and Collins last week. "In what was a tough weekend, we did not play as well as expected," Corradi said.
Arena has this week to decide who to send to the NESCAC Championships, held again at Williams this weekend. "This is where we can really break open our season and start playing better, more consistently," said Corradi. This tournament is especially important because its winner gets a bid to the NCAA Div. III Championships. Last year Jules broke out to place second individually, and Bruns was able to follow with a second-day score of 76. But the work of two people is not enough to pull an entire team. Still missing from action is senior David Litt, who is normally a regular player for the Jeffs and swung well last spring. All of the members of the golf squad are looking to use the NESCAC tournament as an opportunity to turn around.