The men's golf team returned to Williamstown this weekend to compete in the NESCAC Championships, looking to redeem themselves after a poor showing last week at the Williams Invitational. At Williams, the team placed 19th out of the 24 competing teams, hindered by overall mediocrity and a few especially poor showings. This weekend, the par-71 Taconic Golf Club played host to a championship that last year saw Hamilton College squander an 11-shot first-day lead to land in second place just one stroke behind Williams College. Alas, their fate was to be repeated as the Ephs were again able to edge out the Continentals.

Last year, Sean Jules '07 put up a tremendous performance, placing second individually with a two-day score of 155 and lead the Jeffs to fourth place. This year Jules outdid himself, improving his tally to score 76-75-151, good for fifth place and his third-straight First Team All-NESCAC honor. The NESCAC Player of the Year honor went to Trinity College's George Boudria, who fired a two-day 147, including a tournament-best 69 on Sunday.

Returning with Jules on the beaten path to the Williams were junior Andrew Bruns and sophomore Jesse Corradi. Last year Bruns showed himself capable of scoring a 76 at Taconic, but was unable to bring it together over the weekend for a solid performance. Battling with the familiar problem of consistency, Bruns posted a decent 80 on Saturday but lost out on Sunday for an 84 and a two-day total of 164, his worst score thus far in tournament play. Corradi was able to display some great golf, shooting five above par on the difficult back nine for the weekend. Unfortunately, the front nine was less kind, and Corradi ended with a score of 83-80-163, still a six-stroke improvement from his performance last weekend.

First-year Glenn Wong got his first look at the course in his second collegiate tournament. Taking advantage of the perfect weather, Wong improved on last week's matching 84s, swinging for 80-82-182. However, his scores belie the inconsistency he showed moving from nine to nine. On the first day, Wong came out strong with a 37 on the outward, then faltered in his finish. The next day he flip-flopped, starting off poorly and then shooting well on the back nine with another 37. Senior co-captain Keith Zalaski posted a 90-91-181. The Jeffs landed at a seemingly mediocre sixth, but Corradi viewed the tournament as a stepping stone rather than a disappointment. "This is the best team performance we've had yet this year," he said. "I feel like we were very close to shooting a really good team number."

Jules pointed out that the team still has an opportunity to return to their typical level of play before the end of the season. "The team's performance, while although still losing, has improved significantly," said Jules. "We were able to shoot our two best team totals this weekend, and we have significantly closed the gap between ourselves and the winning team."

The next opportunity will be held at Skidmore College today, where the final confrontation of the fall season will take place between the Ephs and the Jeffs. Amherst has not beaten Williams since the 2003 NESCACs and would love to take their last opportunity to upset them.