Golf finishes fifth at ECAC Championships

The original field of 93 teams was whittled down to 19 for last weekend's ECAC Championships. The Penn golf team, a stranger to the final rounds, qualified for this year's event played in Rehoboth Beach, Del., and finished in a tie for fifth place. Finishing with a two-day total of 634, the Quakers had many bright spots in the tournament. Led by junior Adam Bradshaw, who tied for seventh, Penn did not come close to posting its best results of the season, but still managed a fifth-place finish. More importantly, however, was Penn's performance against its fellow Ivy League teams. The Quakers managed to beat or tie all of the other Ivies in attendance -- a far cry from last year's seventh place finish at the Ivy Championships. "They did not play as well as they would have liked to play," Penn coach Francis Vaughn said. "Compared to last year with all the Ivy teams beating us, we have made an improvement against the Ivies." Difficult course conditions didn't make the Quakers' jobs any easier. "The course was extremely difficult. There was out of bounds on almost every hole and 20 mile-per-hour winds, both of which made it very tough to play," Vaughn said. Also competing for the Quakers were sophomore Brian Owens, freshman Rob Goldfaden, senior captain Justin Cotler and junior Dave Benbasset, who played in his first tournament of the fall for Penn. Owens was the best finisher after Bradshaw, coming in a tie for 33rd. "Even with our fifth-place performance, we can improve even more," Owens said. "The team lost many valuable shots on holes with tight fairways and many hazards. With more precision and accuracy, the team has high hopes for the Lehigh Invitational this weekend." Regarding this weekend's event, the Lehigh Invite will be the last tournament action Penn will see this fall. Contested at Bethlehem's Center Valley Golf Club, ranked one of Pennsylvania's top 10 public courses, Penn will need to demonstrate good course management to score well. "After playing the ECAC, we will be prepared for a similar test of golf," Vaughn said. "If the wind blows, it is a very tough course. You must drive the ball well. Par is your best friend at Center Valley." Bradshaw, Owens and Goldfaden along with two other yet-to-be-determined Quakers will compete in the final invite of the season. Penn hopes to parlay its fall success thus far into one more strong performance and then begin preparation for a watershed spring.