M. Golf opens fall season at Navy Invite

But the quest to bring the Ivy League golf title back to West Philadelphia -- the Quakers won the 1998 Ivy League title, but finished third in '99 behind first-place Columbia and runner-up Yale -- begins tomorrow when Penn begins its fall season at the Navy Invitational. "On their home golf course, Navy is always tough," Penn coach Francis Vaughn said. "They have a tough course, so they usually finish first or second because local knowledge plays such a big role." Not only will Penn be up against the challenging course at the Naval Academy Golf Club, but the Quakers also square off with four teams that qualified for last year's NCAAs -- Penn State, James Madison, Seton Hall and Richmond. The 1999 fall season, which consists of four invitationals, serves mainly as a warmup for the spring season, which is highlighted by the Ivy League Championships. "After the fall, we look and see where we excelled and where we did poorly, so we can work on the things we didn't do well," Vaughn said. Vaughn may not need to do too much fine-tuning considering seven of his top eight golfers from last season are returning. This includes senior Rob Goldfaden and junior Kyle Moran, who finished tied for second place at the 1999 Ivy League Championships behind then-freshman Chris Eckerle of Yale. With his second place finish, Goldfaden earned All-Ivy honors for the second season in a row, while Moran received the honor for the first time in his collegiate career. The only top gun the Quakers lost to graduation was captain Brian Owens, who was an All-Ivy selection in 1998. "His leadership and consistency will be missed, but we'll look for Rob [Goldfaden] to step into his shoes," Vaughn said. In addition to the return of two All-Ivy golfers, the Quakers also welcome back their third and fourth best golfers from the Ivy Championships. Juniors Kieran Doherty and Todd Golditch finished 18th and 26th, respectively, at the Championships. However, the strength of the Class of 2003 may be the biggest reason Penn will vie for its second-ever Ivy League crown. The freshman class is led by Chad Perman, winner of this summer's Virginia State Golf Association Junior Championship. Perman was 11 shots under par for the three day tournament, setting a tournament record score of 205. With scores of 67, 69 and 69, he also became the first champion to shoot in the 60s in all three rounds. "He should come in and immediately help the team and also increase our team's depth," Vaughn said. Other newcomers to the Penn golf team are Peyton Wallace and Endel Liias, who were junior champions in Pennsylvania and New England, respectively. With a good freshmen class and a majority of the nucleus from last year's team still intact, the Quakers have the potential to improve on last season's finish. While Penn dropped in the Ivies, the Quakers' overall team score at the 1999 Ivy Championships was actually eight strokes better than their winning score in '98. So if the freshmen contribute immediately and Goldfaden fills Owens shoes, is a 2000 Ivy League Championship in the cards for the golf team? Only seven months' time will tell.