It would be easy to say that the past year has been a good one for the Fordham golf team. After all, the program took home its first victory in nearly four years at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of the Lehigh Valley Collegiate Invitational last spring, and six months later, junior Joseph Trim was impervious to nightmarish conditions at the Lehigh Invitational, scoring the first individual win for a Fordham player in more than a decade.
However, such a statement would directly contradict the sentiments of the team, which holds itself to a high standard. The Rams struggled to find their groove as a team last fall, leading to disappointment in the locker room. They peaked with a pair of fifth-place finishes—one at Lehigh, the other at the season-opening Ryan Lee Memorial Tournament in Simsbury, Ct.
“I can confidently speak for everyone when I say that we underperformed this past fall,” said Trim. “One of the main things we need to focus on is our resolve. Everyone on the team is capable of shooting some very good scores, and I think if we buy into our practice and stay confident, then we can get our season back on track.”
Even so, the fall featured some positive signs that the team can carry into its upcoming campaign. Trim was solid as usual, posting a pair of top 15 finishes to go along with his victory. In addition, junior Matt Schiller continued to post low scores, and sophomore Tommy Hayes displayed plenty of game with his tie for 20th at Lehigh to finish the season.
Senior Oscar Cabanas, junior James Mongey and sophomore Josh Madarang will compete for the remaining tournament spots. They all logged multiple rounds for the Rams last fall.
In what basically amounts to a sprint to the Atlantic 10 Championship, the Rams have five events scheduled for this spring, starting with the Wildcat Invitational at Villanova on March 27. The following week, they will defend their title at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company Invitational, where they will need good performances from Trim and Schiller to have any hope of repeating their success from last year.
After a week off, the team will head to the one-day Yale Spring Invitational on Saturday, April 15 before playing in the Rhode Island Invitational the following Monday. From there, the conference championship will be just 10 days away, all set to kick off on Friday, April 28 at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando.
As a non-scholarship program playing against Division I schools, the Rams have a tough task ahead, but the team is confident in its abilities.
“We need to be ready and expect ourselves to compete in every event, even conferences,” said Trim. “Expectations can be a double-edged sword, but we have a lot of talent as a team, and if we can get all five guys to click at the right time, then we can have a very strong spring.”
