The Boston University golf program launched into the season this past weekend, with the men’s team placing 11th at the Central Connecticut State University’s Blue Devil Invitational and the women’s team finishing 13th at the Dartmouth Invitational. Although both teams failed to crack the top 10, there were some positives during the weekend, according to men’s coach Steve Skrinar.
“We didn’t do as well as I thought we would, but I’m not too unhappy with the scores either,” Skrinar said. “We averaged 80 a round on Saturday and a few years ago, with those scores, we would not have been in last place.”
The Terriers finished in the bottom spot at the 11-team invitational with a combined two-day score of 646 (70 over par) and were pushed out of 10th place by Providence College, who overcame a three-stroke BU lead after the first day of the tournament. Despite the poor finish at the CCSU Invitational, Skrinar does not seem worried about the season.
“Considering that this is our first match, I’m not too concerned. Since I started coaching in 1990, I’ve noticed that the scores seem to fall each year,” Skrinar said in regards to the team’s opposition. “Our scores have gone down as well, since we’ve never averaged better than an 80 on any given day.
“We posted three rounds in the 70s, but we’re going to need to have five or six to become more competitive,” Skrinar added.
Junior Mike O’Day, referred to as the “King Pin” of the team by Skrinar, led the Terriers with scores of 77 and 76. His Sunday total of 76 (+4) earned him a share of 23rd place. Junior Ron Shimko posted strong marks for the team as well, finishing five over par on the final day of the invite.
With freshman tryouts coming to an end within the week, the team will be completed by the weekend. Skrinar noted the potential for four freshman athletes to join the roster, but could not divulge any names yet.
The women’s team, who finished in 11th place at last year’s Dartmouth Invitational, out-dueled four of the 17 teams to earn 13th place. With a weekend score of 669, the ladies fell five strokes short of 12th-place finisher Rutgers University. The team improved its Saturday total of 337 by five strokes Sunday, gaining strength as the weekend came to a close.
Sophomore Lauren Stong earned top honors for the BU team, ending with scores of 79 and 83. With a combined score of 162, Stong was awarded 36th place, eight spots better than teammate Deirdre Hatfield (87, 77). Also representing the Terriers at the Invite was junior Hannah Barry and freshman Kaitlyn Mardeusz, both of whom finished tied for 62nd place.
The women’s team looks to improve their record at the two-day Mt. Holyoke Invitational-where they finished second last year-beginning Sept. 23. The men’s team will travel to Dartmouth for their next match Sept. 30.