The golf team nabbed the Abarta Coca-Cola Collegiate Invitational title, outpacing 14 visiting teams to win its home tournament for the first time in program history. The victory marks the Leopards’ first Division I tournament title since 2019.
The Maroon and White opened the tournament on shaky footing. Across the first 18 holes, the five-man squad of senior Harry Dessel, sophomore Reed Theiss, freshman Viktor Kofod-Olsen, sophomore Travis Robertson and junior Winston Kelec-Blank combined to shoot 21 over par, leaving the team in ninth place and 13 strokes behind Towson’s leading mark.
“We thought going into the tournament we had a good chance of winning, or at least contending to win, so there was an overall vibe of disappointment within the team,” Dessel said of the team’s mindset after Sunday’s opening round.
The Leopards saved their best for Monday’s closing round. Every scorer came in at par or better, stacking up a collective 10 under, an effort that outpaced every other team. That dominance held just long enough, with Lafayette clipping Towson University by a single stroke to secure the win.
“We all played a little freer because we thought we were kind of out of it, so we didn’t think about how we were doing in terms of actually winning the tournament,” Dessel said. “We were just trying to play well.”
Dessel opened his tournament with a three-over-par round on Sunday, placing him in a tie for 31st after day one.
“In the first round, I missed a few really short puts, I made some silly bogies,” he said.
On Monday, he flipped the script entirely. Dessel fired a five-under-par round, the best round posted by any player in the field, to finish at two under and fourth place overall.
“I just started making more putts and when I get the momentum, I feel I can really keep it going,” Dessel said. “That was the big difference, just making more putts, seeing the ball go into the hole and gaining confidence throughout the round.”
Theiss also found individual success, as a two-over-par Sunday round paired with a three-under-par day two placed him fifth overall, one stroke behind Dessel. Rounding out the Maroon and White squad, Kofod-Olsen finished t-18 and Robertson and Kelenc-Blank each placed t-24.
Lafayette also had six golfers competing individually. Sophomore Michael DiNapoli led the group, finishing three over par to place 14th overall. Freshman Liam Brandt followed with a t-24 mark, while sophomore Harrison Browne slotted in at t-64. Freshman Chris Vahey carded a t-78 finish, senior Valdemar Kofod‑Olsen placed 95th and junior Hudson Pace rounded out the group in 97th.
The Leopards competed at Lehigh University on Thursday and will hit the green again on Saturday at Columbia University.
“This win just proves to the team that we can beat any of these teams, especially in the Patriot League,” Dessel said. “If we play the way we’re capable of playing, we should be able to be in contention at least.”
Evelyn Masheb • Apr 18, 2026 at 10:00 pm
Very interesting and well written article