Golf struggles at Princeton, finishing 12th of 15

By Paige McAtee
The golf team did not compete up to par this past weekend as it finished 12th out of 15 teams at the Princeton Invitational held at the Springdale Golf Club.
Rider shot 902 over the two-day invitational, scoring 300 and 303 on Saturday, and 299 on Sunday to ultimately finish 12th in windy conditions. The Broncs led the invitational with 174 pars and had the sixth best par scoring average of the competition with a score of 4.25.
Despite only placing 12th, the team had great individual efforts throughout the contest. Junior Brian Accorsini had a consistent performance as he ended up tying for 19th place at the Invitational.
Accorsini shot 222 for 54 holes. He had rounds of 75 and 79 on Saturday and 68 on Sunday.
“Brian played great,” said Head Coach Bob Whartenby to Rider Sports Information. “He played well on Saturday as well but didn’t make many putts. I gave him a little tip, and he went out and made the adjustment. That gave him his rhythm back.”
Accorsini’s final round of 68 was tied for the second lowest score in the field of 78 golfers, and also tied for the sixth most pars with 37.
“I gave myself a chance by hitting a lot of fairways,” Accorsini said to Rider Sports Information. “I put the ball on the greens and gave myself a chance to make birdie. I was consistent and stayed out of trouble.”
Graduate student Eric LeFante also performed well, tying for 22nd. LeFante shot 223 for the 54 holes. He scored twin 73 rounds on Saturday and a final round of 77 on Sunday. LeFante tied for the sixth most pars with 37 and tied for eighth with the lowest par five scoring average with a 4.67.
Other Rider performances in the Invitational consisted of junior Brent Wolgast who finished 42nd, shooting a 226. Wolgast shot twin 75 rounds on the opening 36 holes on Saturday and finished with a 76 on Sunday.
Lefante, Accorsini and Wolgast have been a solid trio all season as each player has finished first at least once for the Broncs this year.
Sophmore Chris Wolak had a total of 233. He shot a 77 and a 78 on Saturday and a 78 on the second day of the Invitational.
Junior Jordan Wycoff finished in 65th place, with the ninth most pars in the tournament with a 36. Wycoff also had a total of 234 — a 79, 77 and 78
The Broncs didn’t finish the way they had liked especially following up its second place finish at the Monmouth Invitational, but Whartenby was pleased with his team’s efforts.
“We did what I wanted them to do and broke 300 today,” Whartenby said to Rider Sports Information. “I’m proud of how we played. We had a promising effort; it was good to see that. We played very respectable, and this is a confidence booster. We are gelling at the right time as a team.”
The Broncs compete at the Mount Saint Mary’s Invitational on April 19 to 20 in Gettysburg, Pa and then have the highly anticipated MAAC Championships from April 30 to May 2 in Celebration, Fla.