The golf team kicked off its spring season with a strong finish at the Peter Rosin Memorial in Cannonsburg, Pa. this past weekend, placing third.
Of the eight teams competing in the tournament, the Yellowjackets displayed top performance in both rounds. The team closed out the first round with 316 strokes, placing them fourth in the day’s standings.
Sophomore Stephen Goodridge completed the first round three over par with a 75. Freshman John Pecor finished six over with a 78. Junior Robert Sherman scored an 80 for the day. Junior Joe Derrigo and sophomore Matt Cairo ended their day with 83 and 87 strokes, respectively.
The Yellowjackets turned it up the next day, shaving off 12 strokes from Saturday’s total to give the team a two-day total of 620 strokes and placing them third overall at the invitational.
Goodridge lowered his score to four under par to put him at one under for the weekend. His performance also topped all golfers earning him the medalist title. Pecor and Derrigo also improved from Saturday’s turnout with 77 strokes and 78 strokes, respectively.
Pecor’s turnout earned him 10th place among golfers. Derrigo and Sherman tied for 19th.
For the Spring 2006 season, the Yellowjackets look to match and possibly improve upon last year’s performance.
“Our main goals this year are to return to the NCAA Championship and successfully defend our University Athletic Association Championship title,” head coach Rich Johnson said.
Next weekend the team travels to Hershey, Pa. to participate in the Mid-Atlantic Region Invitational. There, they look to compete against 15 of the best regional teams vying for a top three spot, which guarantees entrance to the NCAA tournament.
Right now the Yellowjackets occupy the fourth spot in the regional rankings but hope that it won’t last long after the weekend’s event.
“We face the top 15 teams in the region at Hershey this weekend, so the opportunity will be there to make a move up,” Johnson said.
Serafini can be reached at jserafini@campustimes.org.
