This past Monday, the men’s golf team concluded the final round of the Abarta Coca-Cola Collegiate Invitational, which Lafayette hosted. The tournament took place at the par-72 Northampton Country Club, located in Easton. The Leopards’ A team tied for seventh place, while the B team placed 10th. Eighteen teams entered the competition in total.
The “A” and “B” labels didn’t exactly apply for Lafayette, however, with each group seizing a win against the other over the course of the tournament.
“One of the biggest pros of this tournament was the A and the B team,” sophomore Michael Bell said. “If you look at the scores, you’ll see that the A team beat the B team the first day, and vice versa the second day,” Bell said. “This just goes to show that everyone on the team can really play well. Obviously, the A team is supposed to be the better team, so this just shows that everyone on the team can compete at a high level.”
Patriot League rival Lehigh emerged victorious over the rest of the participants, shooting six-under-par 570 across two rounds.
For the Leopards, sophomore Raymond Dennehy and junior Carter Ablon finished tied for ninth place. Dennehy shot a three-under-par 69 in the first round and a three-over-par 75 in the second round. Ablon scored a one-under-par 71 followed by a one-over-par 73.
Freshman Harry Dessel carded a 71 followed by a 74 to finish tied for 15th place. Bell and fellow sophomore Michael Walsh finished round two tied for 25th place. Bell then recorded a 78 on Sunday before registering an impressive score of 68 the next day. Walsh shot a 70 in the first round, followed by a 76 in round two.
“The main factor that allowed me to improve from day to day was definitely putting,” Bell said. “My mother pulled me aside after the first day and told me I have to go practice putting for two hours in my room tonight. Good thing I listened to her or else I don’t think I would have done as well. I also made little adjustments such as my change in mindset. I went out there the second day with this thought in the back of my head that I had nothing to lose and just sent it.”
Despite his impressive comeback, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Bell.
“One difficulty I faced was on hole seventeen, where it was very easy to hit it out of bounds as the wind came from the left. A lot of guys had trouble with that hole, so I was definitely dreading playing it as I headed up to the tee box,” Bell said.
Senior Martin Vanhaelst finished tied for 49th place after shooting three-over-par 75 in both rounds. In addition, sophomore Sean Saw and freshman Valdemar Kofod-Olsen concluded the tournament tied for 74th. Finally, senior Augie Beers finished in 94th place, while classmate T.J. Repczynski came in 100th.
The Maroon and White have over a week to prepare for the upcoming Patriot League Tournament on April 28. The group will be hosted by Loyola at the Hillendale Country Club in Phoenix, Maryland.