Golf dropped by nation's best

When the Penn golf team won the Ivy League championship last year, it earned more than a fancy trophy and respect from its peers. It won the opportunity to play against better competition. The Quakers got a taste of this competition this past weekend in New York. After a brief respite from their fall tournament schedule, the Penn golfers resumed play this past weekend at the St. John's Walter McLaughlin Red Storm Invitational. Played on the Red Course of Bethpage State Park, site of last years Ivy Championships, the Quakers placed 13th in a talent-laden field of 24, 35 strokes behind the eventual champions from the University of Wisconsin. Leading the way for the Quakers was Wharton junior Rob Hunt, playing in his first event of the season. Shooting rounds of 74-74, Hunt finished eight over par, and tied for 18th in the overall field. Behind Hunt was College junior Rob Goldfaden, who posted rounds of 76-74 to finish two strokes behind Hunt in a tie for 28th. Sophomore Kyle Moran finished 43rd, shooting 79-74, and fellow sophomore Kieran Doherty placed 74th by posting scores of 81-77. Rounding out the field for Penn was senior Brian Owens, who shot 83-79. "While we posted scores far from our potential we have definitely raised the level of our competition this year, and will need to step up our play in order to see the results we did last year," senior Brian Owens said. To that end, the scores of eventual champion Wisconsin are certainly numbers for Penn to target. Posting a five man total of 574, the Badgers were led by Todd Anderson's 71 and 68. That, however, was only good enough for second, as Cincinnati Bearcat Jim Herman bested Anderson by a stroke to take home the medalist honors. Penn is no longer competing against merely Northeast and Ivy opponents like it has in the past. The Red Storm Invitational featured many midwestern powerhouses such as Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Cleveland State and Detroit Mercy . The Quakers hope to improve their luck this upcoming weekend at the 54 hole Army Invitational at the Army golf course in West Point, N.Y. "We are the defending champions from Army, and we really feel that the Army tournament will give us a chance to get back on track," Owens said. Army will be one of the final chances this fall for Penn to prepare for the important spring season, as only the Lehigh and James Madison Invites remain after this weekend. Head coach Francis Vaughn remains undecided on which five Quakers will compete at Army to try to turn this fall's situation around.