The Lafayette men’s golf team participated in the UConn Invitational in Hampden, Mass. this past weekend, placing eighth out of 14 schools from across the Northeast.
Freshman Harry Dessel said that playing consistently well in each round of the tournament is often a challenge at such invitationals.
“Almost all of our tournaments are 54 holes, which is three separate 18-hole rounds. It is not too difficult to get one or two solid rounds but to get all three isn’t easy,” Dessel said. “We definitely have the talent to be able to do it. I think if we are able to play solid for complete tournaments, I 100 percent believe we will win the Patriot League.”
After day one of the invite, Lafayette tied for third. Dessel cemented himself one-over-par in fourth place, with three birdies. Sophomore Michael Walsh was a bit further behind, finishing in 18th place, four-over-par. Sophomore Raymond Dennehy finished that day tied for 23rd. Finishing fourth was sophomore Sean Saw, who shot seven-over-par with a score of 79 in 35th place.
Lafayette dropped down in the leaderboards to tie for sixth after the second day. Dessel continued his strong play in the second round, finishing with an even 72 and heading into the final day tied for second. Behind Dessel was Saw who ended the day tied for 20th, after shooting one-over-par 73. Walsh sat tied for 38th while sophomore Michael Bell was tied for 44th.
The Leopards closed out the invitational tied for eighth, with Dessel leading the way for Lafayette once again. Dessel’s fourth-place overall finish was the second time a Leopard has had a top-10 finish this season, following Dennehy’s performance at the Lagowitz Invitational last month.
“It feels great to get a top-five finish. I definitely am pleased with how I played last week. I played well last summer, and I was hoping it would carry over to the school year,” Dessel said. “I didn’t play how I would like in the first two events, but I knew I had it in me, and I’m glad I was able to show it last week. I’m hoping that isn’t the only top-five I get this year, and the ultimate goal is to win one of these tournaments.”
Following behind Dessel were Walsh (76-79-76) and Saw (79-73-79), who both finished tied for 37th with 231.
“Patriot League-wise, I would say our biggest challenge is Loyola Maryland. I’ve heard they have been on top of the Patriot League these last couple of years. I think we’re going to change that this year,” Dessel said.
Golf will be back in action on Oct. 10 at the Phoenix Invitational, which is hosted by Elon at Alamance Country Club in Burlington, N.C.
