Golf will tee off in LA during spring break

As the Penn men's golf team heads to Los Angeles this weekend for its annual spring break trip, it does so with great hopes about the upcoming spring. After a promising fall in which the Quakers placed seventh in their region, the team thinks its extensive winter practice combined with the playing daily in Los Angeles will provide more than adequate preparation for the spring season. "The team is really looking forward to spring break," Penn junior Brian Owens said. "It will give us a chance to return our games to the level they were this fall." The Quakers plan on playing an intersquad match against UCLA, currently ranked in the nation's top 25, while out West. Facing this tough competition should aid Penn in preparing for a tough spring schedule. "Our spring schedule will be extremely competitive," Penn head coach Francis Vaughn said. "Our first tournament at Liberty University will be a great test because there will be teams from seven conferences competing." The Red and Blue are coming off their best fall in many seasons. In the five events in which the Penn men competed, they came away with two firsts, two seconds and a fourth -- dramatic improvements on the results of past years. Penn also posted a 53-2 record in these fall district tournaments. It is from within the district that teams are selected to continue on to NCAA regionals, so the fall results bode well for the spring. "I'm hoping that someone will step up into our fifth position," Vaughn said. Hopefully for the Quakers, someone will rise to the occasion and join the returning core, led by senior Adam Bradshaw, junior Brian Owens, sophomore Rob Goldfaden and freshman Kyle Moran. Either way, the Quakers are poised to continue on their recent success and achieve new heights.