Heading into next season, the golf team will be without four graduating seniors. Courtesy of Wikimedia
By Sam Belden
With the semester winding down, Fordham golf finished its season at the Atlantic 10 Championships in Harmony, Florida, a community near the city of Orlando.
The host course, Harmony Golf Preserve, is a well-regarded par 72 designed by World Golf Hall of Famer Johnny Miller and Fredrick C. Bliss. While their team score improved on each day of play, the Rams finished in 10th out of 11 teams with a total of 904, besting only La Salle.
Senior Ben Alcorn, playing in his final tournament as a Fordham Ram, led the way for his team, shooting an opening 74 along with a pair of 73’s en route to a tie for 18th. He wound up in a tie for third in par 3 scoring on the week, playing those holes with a score of two strokes over par, and he was the only player in the field with more than one eagle, sinking a pair over the course of the three rounds.
Freshman Joseph Trim also notched a top-thirty finish. After opening with rounds of 76 and 75, he closed with the lowest round of any Fordham player all week, shooting a 72 to move five spots up the leaderboard. Like Alcorn, Trim also shot two over par on the par 3s. After all was said and done, he was satisfied with his performance on his first trip to A-10s.
“I spent a lot of time practicing my putting before the first round, and it seemed to click during the second and final round,” he said. “I’m happy with the way I played. I made some good swings and a couple putts. A solid finish to my freshman season.”
The rest of Fordham’s golfers found themselves further down the leaderboard.
Senior Drew Dufresne closed with a solid 74, but opening rounds of 78 and 77 landed him in a tie for 43rd. Sophomore Oscar Cabanas shot a 74 in the second round, but bookended it with rounds of 79 and 82 en route to a solo 49th. Senior Jeff Hogan tied for 50th, one stroke behind.
VCU won the event by a margin of 13 strokes, taking their second consecutive A-10 golf title. The team’s performance earned them an automatic bid to NCAA Regionals. Adam Ball, VCU’s top performer, was the medalist, finishing seven strokes ahead of Richmond freshman Matthew Lowe, who was named A-10 Rookie of the Year. VCU coach Matt Ball was named Coach of the Year.
Although the Rams did not finish with a high spot on the leaderboard, they had an enjoyable week and considered the end-result to be a modest success.
“The A-10 Championship is always the most impressive and well-executed tournament of the year,” said Alcorn. “We’ve had some difficulty holding our position on the leaderboard this year, often faltering back in the second round. To pass La Salle and stay ahead of them was a small accomplishment.”
For the team members, the fact that it was the final event for seniors Alcorn, Hogan and Dufresne was just as important as the tournament results.
“The three [seniors] that played this weekend meant a lot to the younger guys on the team,” said Cabanas. “They inspired us to be better golfers and better men.”
Also leaving the team is senior Brian Engstrom, who was not in Florida with the team. “Brian was one of the guys on the team who always kept the team in a good mood and positive thinking,” Cabanas added.
For Alcorn, finishing his collegiate golf career was a surreal experience.
“It’s difficult to accept that I’ve played my last round as a Fordham Ram,” he said. “These last four years have been incredible and have helped me mature. I’ll always think back to my time as a Fordham Ram with very strong memories.”
Although the loss of four seniors will change the face of the team somewhat, the Rams appear to be in good hands. Trim and Cabanas will return next season, along with sophomores Hugh Lagrotteria and Fernando Morett, and freshmen James Mongey and Matt Schiller.
“Going forward, I believe we have a lot of potential,” said Trim. “We knew that going into the last couple tournaments, there were four of us competing for two spots at the A-10 tournament, so there were two guys who just as easily could have been down in Florida.”
“Along with a couple incoming freshmen and some returning players, I think we will have our fair share of opportunities to play well,” Trim continued.
