The Cabrini men’s golf team put on an impressive showing this past weekend as they won their third consecutive conference title.
The Cavaliers started hot on day one at the White Manor Country Club in Malvern, Pennsylvania, for the first day. As a whole, the Cavaliers shot 316 on the day, which gave them a commanding lead over the Marywood University Pacers going into day two. Dan Murphy, junior, led the field on the first day shooting 77.
Sean Casper, junior, finished the first day tied for second, shooting 78. Jonathan Papp, senior, shot 80, Liam Casper, junior, shot 81 and Jerry Haftmann, senior, shot 83 rounding off the Cavaliers and finishing tied in sixth place to end the day.
Four of the five golfers for Cabrini ended the day in the top five on the leaderboard, which was only a preview of what the Cavaliers had in store for the last day of the tournament.
To round off a nice, sunny weekend Cabrini continued to dominate the field. The projected conference winners made sure that they walked away with the title after individually doing what they had to do.
The Cavaliers held a 19-stroke lead going into day two, and that would grow even bigger.
The team cut their score by 11 strokes, which ended up giving the team a total score of 621.
“As a group, the progress that was made has been a joy to watch,” Tana Thomas, head coach, said. “Everyone on the team, from day one, earned this [title].”
All five golfers either matched or improved on their scores from the day prior. Daniel Murphy and Sean Casper shot 77 and tournament-high 76 respectively. Liam Casper would shoot 76 as well, alongside Jerry Haftmann. Jonathan Papp shot a 78 to round off the Cavaliers.
Sean Casper captured the individual championship for the Atlantic East, which is his second consecutive victory. His win came without ease, as he and fellow Cavalier Dan Murphy had to settle for a tiebreaker to decide who the winner was. Both golfers finished the tournament shooting 154.
“Winning the Atlantic East Title in back-to-back seasons is such an amazing feeling,” Casper said. “We are looking forward to competing in Florida.”
Liam Casper finished the tournament sitting alone in third, being behind his brother Sean, and Murphy by three strokes. Casper finished with a score of 157. Jonathan Papp finished tied for fourth with a total score of 158. Haftmann finished alone in sixth for the tournament with a total score of 159.
Cabrini took four out of the top five spots to finish the tournament. With their win, the Cavaliers gained an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament, which takes place from May 10 to the 13 at the Mission Inn and Resort in Florida.
Sean Casper picked up “Golfer of the Year” honors for a second consecutive season. Tana Thomas and the coaching staff received “Coaching Staff of the Year.”
The Casper’s, Murphy and Papp received first-team all-conference honors. Haftmann received second-team all-conference.
