The golf team competed in the Roar-EE Invitational hosted by Columbia University on Saturday, with its split squad finishing second and 10th out of 10 teams, respectively. The Leopards also faced off against rival Lehigh University on Tuesday at the annual Presidents Cup at Hamilton Farm Golf Club, falling in a narrow 10.5-9.5 loss to the Mountain Hawks.
Freshman Travis Robertson, who earned Patriot League Men’s Golfer of the Week, led the way for the Maroon team at the par-72, 6,790-yard Wiltwyck Golf Club on Saturday, shooting two-under-par with nine birdies and an eagle to secure a t-3 rank. This marked the second straight event with a top-three Leopard finish.
“The first round, I just kind of had a lot of confidence,” Robertson said. “A lot of putts were falling, which is really good with building momentum during the round.”
Junior Harry Dessel and sophomore Winston Kelenc-Blank finished not far behind, carding 145 and 146 for t-10 and 13th place, respectively. Senior Sean Saw turned in a one-under-par round one finish before shooting 79 in round two to finish t-28, and senior Quint Dingledine sat at t-33 after carding 151.
The White team consisted of senior Michael Bell, sophomore Hudson Pace and freshmen Reed Theiss, Michael DiNapoli and Harrison Browne. Theiss led the squad with a score of 153 to land t-43, with DiNapoli and Pace finishing in the top 60 and Bell and Browne following in the top 70.
“To actually be one or two shots off from winning a tournament as a team, I think that was huge momentum for us in the future to show that we are very capable of winning tournaments now with the talent we have,” Dessel said.
In Tuesday’s Presidents Cup action, the Leopards fell behind early, losing in four out of five in the better-ball foursomes. Bell and DiNapoli finished 3-1 in the round’s sole victory.
The alternate shot round saw far more success for the Maroon and White, outscoring Lehigh 4.5-0.5 to take the overall lead on the day. Bell and DiNapoli were the only duo not to win, finishing all square with the Mountain Hawks.
“For Reed and I, we played a lot better in the alternate shot,” Dessel said. “No one’s used to doing alternate shot because we’re used to playing stroke play, playing our own ball. I was surprised about how well we did in alternate shot.”
Looking to secure the win, the Leopards entered the individual matches up 5.5-4.5. Bell and Theiss were the sole victors, managing 2-1 and 3-2 wins. Browne, DiNapoli, Kelenc-Blank and Dessel each lost their matches as the Mountain Hawks outscored the Leopards 6-4 to edge out the win on the day.
“The toughest holes on that the par-3 course is the final stretch,” Dessel said. “We just weren’t as sharp as we should have been coming down the stretch.”
In addition to the men’s team, senior Grace Sanborn competed individually at the Muhlenberg Invitational. Taking place at Lehigh Country Club, which was played to a par-68 course due to course renovations, Sanborn took home first place in her final collegiate competition, carding a 76.
“It was a little bit surreal for me because I knew that very few people have the opportunity to be able to win their last college event,” Sanborn said. “I really just wanted to go out on a good round.”
The Leopards have unfinished business to attend to, as they will compete in the Patriot League Championship hosted by Bucknell University this weekend.
“If we can compete like that this weekend coming out, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be contending for a league championship,” Robertson said.
Benjamin White ‘27 and Isabella Gaglione ’25 contributed reporting.
Disclaimer: Sports Editor Grace Sanborn ’25 is a member of the golf team. She did not contribute writing or reporting.
