Broncs returning to fall’s playing form

by Charles Guthrie

The Broncs are back in the swing of things.

The golf team has bounced back after a poor spring season with two solid finishes to start off the fall tour.

Last week, the Broncs finished third out of 15 at the Bucknell Invitational and had a fourth place finish at the Colgate Invitational earlier in the month.

Senior Tyler Brewington led the charge for the Rider golfers at the Bucknell Golf Club, shooting a 211 during the three-round tournament, finishing second out of 84 golfers—only one shot off from being tournament leader.

“I played well in the tournament,” Brewington said. “Just not as well as I am capable of. I still haven’t played to my full potential.”

Junior Eric LeFante finished with a 15th place score of 222, but said that his game still isn’t where it needs to be yet.

“I believe my game is still coming around,” LeFante said. “I feel like I will shoot some better scores in the remaining events.”

Rider shot 883 as a team in the 54-hole tournament while receiving contributions from freshman golfer Brent Wolgast, who shot a 227 for 30th place overall, and freshman Jordan WyCoff and sophomore Kevin Krecicki, who both shot 229 to tie for 36th place.

“The tournament was a great learning experience for everyone,” Head Coach Bob Whartenby told Rider Sports Information. “Hopefully our younger players learned a little bit on how to finish a tournament off, and how important each shot is on the final results.”

The Bucknell Bison won the tournament with a score of 867, while the Temple Owls came in second place at 876.

The Bronc golfers traveled up to the Seven Oaks Golf Course in Hamilton, N.Y. on Sept. 8, for the two-day Colgate Invitational. This was the only tournament they struggled in last fall when they finished in 12th place. The golfers improved this year as they shot a 306 the first day and a 317 the next for a total score of 623, which was good for fourth place out of 15 teams.

Brewington was the catalyst for the team as he shot a 146 and finished third out of 75 golfers. LeFante scored a 155 for 21st, freshman Brian Accorsini had a 161 for 43rd, Wolgast a 165 for 58th, and sophomore Dan Toomey shot a 166 for 62nd place.

Tournament host Colgate won the event with a team score of 597.

LeFante said the team played well in it’s first two tournaments, but it still hasn’t played at its highest level yet.

“Our fourth place finish at Colgate and third place at Bucknell are respectable, but we are not thrilled with them,” LeFante said. “We have a ton of talent and we are hoping it shows in our last three tournaments of the fall season.”

The Broncs had an impressive run in their last three tournaments last fall as they had two first-place finishes, with a third-place finish sandwiched in the middle. LeFante explained that the team has undergone a lot of change in the spring and that there won’t be a drop-off like last season.

“Three of our top five players left after the fall season last year,” LeFante said. “So we were in a tough spot and barely had enough people to compete.”

The team will continue to make strides in its next tournament on September 23-24, when they travel up to Olean, N.Y. for the Leo Keenan Invitational at St. Bonaventure.