Golf defends title this weekend at Ivy League Championship

The Quakers return to Bethpage, N.Y., where they won last year's title. After its initial spring tournament appearance last weekend and a week of practice, the Penn golf team heads to Long Island today to get in a round before defending its Ivy League title over 54 holes this Friday and Saturday at Bethpage State Park Golf Course. Playing on the park's Red Course, the quintet of senior captain Brian Owens, junior Rob Goldfaden and sophomores Kieran Doherty, Kyle Moran and Todd Golditch hope to rekindle the magic from last April and repeat as champions. Last year, the Quakers turned in a 303 on the first day and shot a 296 on the second day to edge Yale -- the champion in '96 and '97 -- by two strokes overall. Led by first-team All-Ivy selections Christoph Kyrle and Adam Bradshaw, both members of the Class of '98, and current junior Rob Goldfaden, who placed fourth, Penn captured its first-ever Ivy title. While Penn's first foray of the spring this year -- a 17th-place finish at the Navy Invitational last weekend -- was not as successful as the Quakers had expected, the team is extremely upbeat regarding their chances this weekend. "I am really excited," Goldfaden said. "I think we have got a strong team. We have been working really hard and it will pay off. Our outlook is great and we have become really motivated; we are the better team and we just need to perform." With a team that boasts several accomplished players, including Doherty -- who qualified for the 1998 U.S. Amateur at Oak Hill Country Club last August -- Penn's golfers do have a leg up on their competition, even after last week's performance. "We have yet to perform up to our standards this semester. Princeton, Yale and Columbia have great players and should all be able to mount strong challenges for the title," said Moran, who finished 22nd at last year's Ivy Championships. "However, we know that man for man no other Ivy team can match us. If we play our best golf, we should be able to retain the championship." Retaining the title is something that no Penn has team has been able to try in the modern era of Ivy League golf -- last year was Penn's first title since the Ivy Championships began in 1975. This Quakers squad, composed of five golfers who all made contributions throughout last spring, cannot help but feel confident as it prepares to defend the title beginning with 36 holes on Friday morning.