The golf invitationals over the weekend of Saturday, Sept. 18 and Sunday, Sept. 19 were packed with golfers. Cabrini’s golf team did quite well statistically. There were different tournaments held that gave both the men’s and women’s teams a chance to showcase their skills.
Saturday’s event for the men’s team was at a Dickinson tournament in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Tara Thomas, head men’s and women’s golf coach, said, “It was a very strong field and so we didn’t come in as high as we might have with really good scorers. We played quite well that day.” The men’s team on Saturday played against tough competition such as Stevenson, Chestnut Hill and Swarthmore College.
Thomas said, “The scores were very low on Saturday as well and so people were generally happy.” Saturday’s events made those that participated feel good after seeing scores weren’t high.
There were many scores throughout the day. Gerald Haftmann, senior business management major and sports management minor, led the club with a career best three under par 69 to finish tied for fourth. Ryan Calderaro, senior business management major and marketing minor, finished in 67th place with a score of 90. Mitch Walz, sophomore marketing and computer information systems major, scored a 78 which was good for a tie to get 40th place.
Thomas said, “The golf course was set up pretty easy and we did have a good showing there.”
For the women’s event on Saturday at the McDaniel College tournament in Abbottstown, Pennsylvania, the team didn’t bring a lot of players. “The women on the other hand we were only bringing five and it was their first tournament of the year. They did quite well,” Thomas said.
The women’s team finished in eighth place. They posted a team score of 404 on the par 72 circuit at The Bridges Golf Club. Ashley Ea, freshman computer science major, scored an 85 which was good for a 9th place finish. Vic Monterosso, senior international business major, had a top 15 finish after her score of 87 which tied for 12th. Kelly Cahill, senior social work major, scored a 113 that secured 34th place.
At the women’s invitational, it was a struggle for the team dealing with the heat. Thomas said, “On Saturday it was quite warm and that played a factor, particularly for the girls. They were really struggling.” Despite finishing in eighth place, it was an 18-hole event in the heat that many struggled with.
On Sunday it was more of a struggle for the men’s team. “Sunday, people were having a rougher day in general,” Thomas said. “The golf course is just harder.” Sunday’s men’s event was held at Rock Manor Golf Club in Wilmington, Delaware. The men’s team had good play as some finished better than others.
The team posted a score of 313. Waltz scored a 92 which tied for 55th. Sean Caspar, sophomore business management major and sports management minor, shot a 76 which put him in a five-way tie for sixth. Liam Caspar, sophomore finance major, shot a 77 which got him a tie for 11th.
Thomas learned many things after attending the weekend filled with tournaments. Thomas said, “I’m starting to narrow down who should be in the top five. I’m starting to see some of the areas in their game that may need improvement. Always they need to work on their short game and so we’ll be focusing on that going forward.” As the head coach, Thomas must make an important decision on who should be in her top five for tournaments.
Jonathan Papp, second year team captain and senior marketing major as well as sports management minor, attended both men’s events. He spoke about Saturday’s men’s event, “It’s a pretty simple golf course. A lot of short holes where people at our level can really take advantage of it. I, on the other hand, did not.”
He said how by not taking advantage of an easier course, it helped make him better. “It definitely opened my eyes that I need to take care of myself first rather than take care of others.” Papp realizes that he needs to better prepare himself for upcoming tournaments first rather than others.
After his not so good day on Saturday, he was ready for Sunday’s tournament.
“Then I came back the next day on Sunday with a fresh mind, good sleep the night before and was ready to go,” Papp said. He shot a 76 which helped prevail him into the five-way tie for sixth place with his teammate Sean Caspar.
Papp said, “We had a couple kids who missed the last tournament on Saturday that came back and played really well.” To him, it was a building point for some of the players that missed the event. Liam and Sean Caspar were two of the players that didn’t attend Saturday’s men’s tournament. They finished in the top 11.
Both Daniel Murphy, sophomore business management major, and Josh Murphy, freshman business management major, were the other two players that didn’t attend the men’s tournament on Saturday. Daniel Murphy finished tied for 29th with a score of 81. Josh Murphy finished tied for 39th with a score of 85.
Learning about the team is something he was able to do over the weekend. “I think it sends a message to the conference that we have a lot of kids that can beat you. Our roster is pretty deep with the depth that we have,” Papp said. There’s plenty of players on the men’s team that have the ability to finish near the top spots. Liam and Sean Caspar, Papp and Haftmann finished in the top 11 on either Saturday or Sunday.
The men’s and women’s teams had their ups and downs over this weekend. They took away thoughts and feelings about themselves. The goal for these players and coaches to better themselves so they can benefit their team’s in a good way is a standard for success.
