In a two-day tournament that consisted of 578 team shots, only two strokes stood in the way of a Quakers win.
The Penn men's golf team took second place at this weekend's Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md. The team score of 10-over par tied them with Winthrop as Loyola (Md.) shot eight-over par for the win.
The course was familiar territory for all of the Penn golfers except freshman Chance Pipitone.
"Four of the starters had seen the course before," Penn coach Rob Powelson said. "They had experience going in."
Sophomore Michael Blodgett led the Quakers with a two-over par score of 144 that placed him 10th individually.
Junior Dean Merrill and Pipitone nearly equaled the efforts of their teammate, both shooting a three-over par. Rounding out the five Penn golfers who competed were senior Sean Barrett and junior Nick Ryder. In the first tournament of the season, team captain Barrett shot four-over par, while Ryder went seven-over.
Pipitone had one of the lowest rounds in the tournament Sunday, and he helped bring the Quakers within a few shots of Loyola with a final round of 69. The freshman was able to learn from his first-round 76 to shoot the lowest round on the team.
"I could tell he had a comfort level with the course," said Powelson of his freshman. "He was edgy in the first round. It was the first tournament of his career."
The highlight of this first collegiate tournament came on the 11th hole of the second round. Pipitone hooked his tee shot nearly 60 yards right, a difficult shot to recover from, especially on a par-4 that Powelson described as "a tight driving hole."
With his second shot, he chunked his 3-wood to bring him within 110 yards of the hole. Using a wedge, he swung with hopes of setting up a bogey-saving putt. Instead, he holed the shot for par and continued his impressive round. If not for a bogey on the 18th or an in-and-out putt on 16th, he could have broken the tie for the lowest-round with a 68 or 67.
Rounds like that may become commonplace for Pipitone. "He comes to us as one of the most talented amateur golfers I've seen," said Powelson. "I'm excited to have him in our five-man rotation."
One of the golfers that Pipitone tied with 69 was Loyola's sophomore Blake Furgerson. He shot two straight rounds of 69 to lead Loyola to the championship, and his two-round score of 138 forced a playoff with North Dakota State's Eric Johnson for individual honors.
Johnson won the playoff, but his team finished 11th, after holding a share of the lead following Saturday's rounds.
North Dakota State, along with Winthrop and George Washington, held a one-stroke lead over Loyola, but the Greyhounds shot two-over par yesterday for the win.
The Quakers also shot a tournament low two-over par yesterday, but it was not enough to recover from their Saturday round of eight-over par.
Penn returns to the links for the McLaughlin at the Bethpage Courses on Long Island. Saint John's University will hold the tournament Sept. 22-23.
