The Boston University men’s golf team improved by 25 strokes on the second day of the New England Championships this past weekend at the Triggs Memorial Golf Club in Providence, R.I. The impressive improvement moved the Terriers into a tie for 12th place in the 14-team tournament.
After shooting a total of 347 on the first day, the Terriers bounced back to shoot a 322 on day two, which tied them with the College of the Holy Cross for 12th place overall at 669 total strokes. The University of Rhode Island, the host school for the event, won its seventh straight title with a two-day total of 583 strokes.
Despite a low overall finish, BU coach Gary Skrinar found many positives in the team’s improvement from Saturday to Sunday.
“Going in, I was expecting to have five guys play 36 holes,” Skrinar said candidly. “We didn’t do very well the first day, but we turned it around on the second. If we had duplicated Sunday’s performance on Saturday, we would have had our best finish ever.
“We made up some spots,” he added. “And I was very happy with that.”
Individually, senior Tushar Modi led the Terriers, shooting a 156 for the tournament and finishing in a tie for 30th place overall.
“[Modi] is playing very consistently for us right now,” Skrinar said.
Placing behind Modi, Bradley Mendel tied for 54th, shooting a 168 over the two days. Ben Rhodeside’s 173 was good for 62nd, while Jed Prescott (174) and Eric Leiser (177) rounded out the field for the Terriers.
The performance came immediately after the Terriers finished second – behind Manhattan College and in front of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – in a tournament held at the Brookline Golf Club last Friday. Freshman Steven Smith led the way for the Terriers in that tournament, shooting an 82. Brad Thompson and Jordan Delaney both shot 84s to complete the top three for BU.
Next up for the Terriers are the America East Championships, scheduled for May 3-4 at Blackledge Country Club in Hebron, Conn. Skrinar was realistic in his expectations for the tournament, which features only two other schools (Binghamton University and the University of Hartford), both of which offer golf scholarships.
“I hope the guys play to their averages or better, that they have fun and that the weather’s nice,” he said.