By Ariana Giorgi ‘13

Lafayette’s golf team showed improvement at the Army Last Chance Classic after a rough home tournament the previous week.

Although there were no formal team scores, it was projected by totaling individual scores that Lafayette would have placed second overall behind Army on their home course out of the four teams present, according to senior captain David Kafafian.

“I think most of the guys saw some improvement in overall consistency,” Kafafian said.

In particular, the freshmen on the team seem to be standing out in each tournament. Placing sixth among all players and first for Lafayette was first-year Patrick Luther, who said this was his best finish yet this spring season.

“The freshmen are certainly putting the pressure on the upperclassmen,” Head Coach Jim Hutnik said. “It’s going to be a very difficult decision on who plays in the Patriot League Tournament.”

Until the Patriot League Tournament, the players are taking advantage of opportunities to work on consistency in their performance. Earlier this week on Tuesday, the team traveled to Lehigh’s home course for an informal meeting against Lehigh, finishing close behind them in team score. Normally the match would have been the Lehigh Valley Cup, however, Muhlenberg and Moravian failed to participate.

Coming up for the Leopards this weekend is the Navy Spring Invitational Tournament. It is the last play for Lafayette before the Patriot League Tournament next weekend.

“I’m going to keep building on my performance and practice hard to get ready for Navy,” Luther said. “Navy will be a good test to see where we stand going into Patriots.”

This weekend will also be the last chance for Lafayette players to prove themselves for Patriot League Tournament selection. Hutnik said those showing consistent performance and improvement will likely play.

The Navy Spring Invitational will take place Saturday and Sunday at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course in Annapolis, Md.