The Penn men's golf team cancelled its spring break tournament, participating in fundraising and exhibition events instead. Still, coach Scott Allen believes his team's break experience will help everyone be ready for the start of the spring season this weekend.
"I think spring break was not necessarily about the matches but instead about the competition," Allen said.
He hopes the internal battles that occurred during the exhibitions will have his team on top of its game. A successful start to the season - at the George Washington Golf Invitational today and tomorrow in Bethany Beach, Del., - is especially important since No. 1 player Mike Blodgett is out for at least the first two matches. Blodgett's chronic shoulder injury was the reason Penn opted out of its trip to his hometown of San Luis Obispo, Calif., scheduled for March 7-14. Even with his senior captain out, Allen sees the glass half full.
"It's an opportunity for one more person to get in the lineup each week," he said. It's "a chance to step up and prove something."
Penn hopes to prove that it has quality depth behind Blodgett against the crowd of talent that will surround them at Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club. Teams from across the East Coast will participate in the event, though Penn is the lone Ivy squad. Allen likes his team's chances.
"I think it's a good field for us," he said. "If we play our best golf we should be among the leaders."
After playing a practice round yesterday, Penn has a good sense of the 6,834-yard course.
"It's a golf course where you have to think and play smart," Allen said. "You can't just step up and bang driver on every hole. You've got to be on the right spots of the tee, and I think that favors our game."
Senior Brett Rendina and sophomore Kevin Huntington - both of whom helped the Red and Blue to a 3rd-place finish last season - are each expected to play a large role in filling Blodgett's shoes. Meanwhile, Allen praised freshmen Scotty Williams and Dillon Hakes for their strong play in practices.
With the weather forecast calling for wind and rain, Allen sees the tournament as a challenge for his entire team.
"It's always tough to post low numbers in [that] kind of weather so hopefully it'll be a good test of being able to fight out good scores and good rounds," he said.
