Golf struggles at Navy Invite

The Penn men's golf team began its spring season with what can be best be described as results to match the weather. Playing through dismal conditions, the Quakers struggled in their first tournament experience of the spring, placing 17th in the Naval Academy Invitational in a strong field of 23 teams, 64 strokes behind the eventual champions from Seton Hall University. While all of the NCAA District II's top 10 teams were competing, the Quakers had hoped to fare better. Princeton, the only other Ivy to compete besides Penn, finished a strong 32 strokes ahead of the Quakers -- giving notice that Penn will need to improve by the weekend to defend their Ivy title. The Ivy League Championship will be held at Bethpage, N.Y., from Thursday through Saturday. "Our lack of tournament play this semester really showed up," sophomore Kyle Moran said. "Scores were made worse by the golf course and the inclement weather." Posting rounds of 317-330, Penn was led by junior Rob Goldfaden, who shot 78-82 to place 56th overall in the field. Following Goldfaden was Moran, who posted scores of 85-76, good enough only to finish in 62nd place. Fellow sophomores Kieran Doherty and Todd Golditch faced a similar fate, posting scores of 77-88 and 77-89 respectively, good enough to place 90th for Doherty and 94th for Golditch. Rounding out the field for Penn was senior captain Brian Owens, who did not fare well in the weather, posting scores of 85-84 and placing only 107th in the field. "The conditions were very tough," Owens said. "Regarding next weekend, Princeton did play very well, they have some excellent golfers." As mentioned before, the Tigers may prove to be one of a few squads which can hope to challenge Penn's Ivy title of a year ago. But the Quakers believe that, given the proper preparation, they have what it takes to repeat. "If we practice intensely the next two days, we should be ready because we won't have to find our mental games on the course," Moran said. While their performance at Annapolis will most likely serve as a wake-up call, the Quakers will need to bounce back quickly as they prepare for their title defense at Bethpage State Park. "I still feel confident we can play our best next week [at the Ivy League Championship] and we should be the head-on favorites to win," Moran said.