The University golf teams began their seasons on Sunday, March 16 with the men competing in Port St. Lucie, FL while the women took to Williamsburg, VA. Since the beginning of their spring schedule, both teams post high individual marks in nearly every tournament played.
The men have participated in the Villanova Invitational at the White Manor Country Club, the Lafayette Invitational at the Silver Creek Country Club and most recently the FDU Invitational at the Crystal Spring Golf Resort.
Paced by junior Brady Goodling, the men’s team finished 13th out of 16 teams at the Villanova Invitational. Goodling finished the first round at 73, the second round at 77, and the third round at 72, just one over par. He placed tenth overall.
Senior Corey Carrick posted the next best MU finish at 235 with rounds of 77, 81, and 77. In his second tournament, freshman Tommy Whelan completed four strokes behind Carrick with rounds of 79, 77, and 83. Sophomore Kyle Deisher was one stroke behind Whelan at 240 while junior Colin Buckley finished at 248.
During the first weekend of April, the men’s team traveled to Lafayette where they shared eighth place with Colgate University, out of 18 competitors.
The Hawks were once again paced by Goodling who shot 150 on the total 36-hole course. Brady, who recorded one of the four eagles registered (a score of two under par for a given hole), finished with rounds of 76-74 and ended the tournament 8+.
Carrick tied for 43rd with his first round at 81 and his second round at 75. Deisher, Buckley, and Whelan shared 50th in the tournament. Deisher finished at 81-76; Buckley showed 78-79, and Whelan, registered as an individual, fired 77-80. Freshman Jesse Hazam completed the event at 160 playing back-to-back rounds at 80 strokes.
Over the weekend on the par-71, 6,734-yard Crystal Springs Country Club course, the Hawks finished eighth out of 14 teams.
As usual, Goodling was MU’s top finished in the tournament as he tied with Chris Calabro from Manhattan and Kyle Wambod from Binghamton at 160 strokes. Goodling carded rounds of 79-81 and finished 18+. Carrick and Deisher tied for 32nd in the tournament at 163, 21+. Deisher paced the Hawks in the opening round with an MU best of 78 strokes.
Much like the men, the women have competed in three matches this spring.
The first match of the season, the Middleburg Bank Intercollegiate hosted by William and Mary, was cut short due to weather conditions and thus the women never played the final 18 holes.
However, senior Michelle Rosenhouse posted a 167 on a 36-hole day including a team-best 80 strokes during the second round of play. At the end of the first two rounds, Rosenhouse shared 39th. Senior Macy Raimo finished second best for MU at 171 with rounds of 87 and 84. Senior Elizabeth Abbondandolo and sophomore Rebecca Gaona, who participated as an individual, finished at 172 on the par-72 course. Sophomore Jessica Kavanagh and junior Ashley Navin each carded 177 rounding out the Hawks for the first and second round.
Much like the William and Mary tournament, the team’s following match, the Seahawk Spring Invitational at the par-72 Quail Valley Golf Club, was abruptly ended due to inclement weather. Instead of featuring three rounds, the women played in two rounds.
Rosenhouse guided the Hawks to a sixth place finish in the Invitational with back-to-back rounds of 86. Navin also had back-to-back rounds at 89 strokes to share 22nd overall. Gaona carded rounds of 96 and 90 to finish 30th. Kavanagh ended the Invitational at 191 while Abbondandolo was two strokes behind at 193. As a collective whole, MU shot 364 in the first round and 358 in the second round to finish at 722.
The third meet of the season, the Navy Spring Classic, was held at par-72 Naval Academy Golf Club in Annapolis, MD.
The women started off the first day strong with Rosenhouse notching 167 through the first two rounds.
Playing as an individual, Abbondandolo posted rounds of 81 and 90 for 171 finish and sixth place. Gaona totaled at 177 for the day and held eighth place. A few strokes behind was Raimo at 178 and Navin and 180. Kavanagh closed the second round at 184.
After day one, the Hawks were tied for second with the Mids, just 11 strokes behind the Fairfield Stags.
The Hawks fell to third place during the final round of the 54-hole tournament. MU totaled at 1054 while the Mids took second at 1043 and Fairfeld held on to the win at 1031.
Rosenhouse finished with an overall score of 254 and a final round of 87 strokes. Abbondandolo landed four swings behind at 259 while Gaona posted a 267. Navin finished at 268, Raimo at 272, and Kavanagh at 274.
This match counted as MU’s last preparation before the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference championships at Disney’s Palm Golf Course in Lake Buena Vista, FL held from April 25 to April 27.
The men will have one more match before they too head to the MAAC Championships. On Thursday, April 17 in their final home match, the men will host the MU Quad Invitational which will feature Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, and Saint Peter’s, all of which are conference opponents.
