The golf team competed at the Naval Academy Golf Club in “The Goat” invitational in Annapolis, Maryland, this past weekend. The Leopards rounded out the competition finishing in ninth place out of 15 schools.
Junior Harry Dessel shot even par for the tournament, catapulting eight spots in the rankings on the final day to finish tied for fifth overall. Dessel shot 65 and 70 in the final two rounds to reach a total of 213, spearheading the Leopards to a ninth-place finish.
“Our second round went really well,” Dessel said. “I was actually surprised that we finished ninth. It was a really strong field and we brought two freshmen playing in their first event, so I was not expecting much, but the way we played in rounds two and three was definitely encouraging.”
The Maroon and White placed 10th through the first two rounds, shooting 26-over par as a team for the first day of the invitational. The Leopards shot 10-over-par on the final day of the tournament at the par-71, 7,025-yard course.
“I think the team is doing well at putting bad starts behind them,” Dessel said. “It is so important in golf to move on after a bad hole and I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job at that.”
Behind Dessel, senior Quint Dingledine tied for 20th place overall with a five-over-par performance. Sophomore Winston Kelenc-Blank finished in 36th after a strong showing on day two, shooting one over par in the final round.
“The team should keep believing that we can score well, as we have shown signs of great scoring,” senior Michael Bell said. “We just have to put three rounds together.”
“Most importantly, we have to get it together before the Patriot League Tournament next semester,” he continued. “We have players with amazing talent. We are also a very young team, so I think just hanging in there and letting players develop is going to be important for the future.”
As part of that young team, freshmen Reed Theiss and Travis Robertson competed in their first tournament for the Maroon and White. Theiss tied for 73rd overall with a 20-over-par showing and Robertson shot 23 over par to reach 79th place.
The Leopards will resume action on Sunday when they venture off to Hampden, Massachusetts, to compete in The 14th Annual Connecticut Cup, hosted by the University of Connecticut.
“We need to make sure our worst counting score still stays somewhat decent,” Dessel said. “If all counting scores are decent, it will give us a much better chance of competing to win tournaments.”
Disclaimer: Sports Editor Grace Sanborn ’25 is a member of the golf team. She did not contribute writing or reporting.