Golf Gearing Up for A-10s

With less than two weeks standing between it and the Atlantic 10 Championships, Fordham Golf has been searching for some momentum over the past two weeks. While the Rams finished ninth at the Wildcat Invitational, they faltered at the next week’s Met Intercollegiate, finishing last in the field. Last week, the team got off to a strong start, but it faded on the final day of the Til Duty Is Done Collegiate Invitational and notched a third consecutive ninth place finish out of the 16 squads.

The tournament, hosted by the University of Connecticut, was held at Mohegan Sun Golf Club, an average casino course designed by a team of Geoffrey S. Cornish, Stephen Kay and Robert McNeil.

Senior Ben Alcorn led the way for Fordham, shooting rounds of 74 and 76 en route to a tie for ninth. It was his second consecutive tournament as the lowest Ram in the field and his best individual finish since sharing second place at last fall’s Lehigh Invitational.

While Alcorn was pleased about the state of his game, certain bad breaks left him wondering what could have been. “I made a few regrettable mistakes each day that led to higher scores,” he said. “The second day, I hit the ball phenomenal but didn’t make the putts I needed to make.”

Freshman Joseph Trim also played well. After shooting a pedestrian 79 in the first round, he righted the ship and closed with a 75, good for a share of 21st place.

“The first day was a bit of a struggle with some stronger winds,” he said. “During the second round, I found a swing thought that I was able to focus on and commit to, and it helped me hit some quality shots down the stretch.”

The remaining Rams found themselves further down on the leaderboard. Sophomore Oscar Cabanas shot rounds of 79 and 82, putting him in a tie for 52nd. Senior Drew Dufresne had a nice moment when he notched an eagle during the second round, but he was doomed by his opening 85 and tied for 58th. Senior Jeff Hogan opened with a 79 and closed with an 84 en route to a tie for 64th, one stroke behind.

Hartford won the event by a wide margin, finishing 13 strokes ahead of Connecticut, its closest pursuer. The Hawks were led by medalist Will Betts, who shot rounds of 68 and 70 to leave his competition in the dust.

With the A-10 Championships fast approaching, the Rams are fine-tuning their games. The event, which is to be held at the Harmony Golf Preserve in Florida, is the most important of Fordham’s season, but Alcorn states that the team might not have a lot to look forward to, citing a lack of support from the athletic department.

“The A-10 conference is very competitive, and we are the only team competing without scholarships,” he said. “Given our facilities, I consider every year we don’t finish last a successful year.”

Trim is more optimistic of Fordham’s chances. “It is a tournament that I am very excited for,” he said. “If we practice hard in the next couple of weeks and find our timing, I think we can have a strong showing down in Florida.”

Regardless of whether or not Fordham will be competitive at A-10’s, the team has reached the final stretch of its season.

This week, the Rams head to Newport National Golf Club for the New England Division I Golf Championships for a final tune-up before heading down to Florida.