The UR golf team continued its formidable play this past weekend, placing second at the Nazareth Invitational, played down the road in Pittsford.
The team placed only behind eventual winners Washington ‘ Jefferson College each day of the competition. The Yellowjackets lost by a combined nine strokes over two days of play.
UR has not finished worse than third among Division III teams in any match so far this year.
On day one, sophomore Michael Chudacoff stormed out of the gate, shooting an even-par 72 to share the lead with Washington ‘ Jefferson’s Brad Cieslinski. Chudacoff’s round included an ace on the 15th hole, the first of his career as a ‘Jacket.
He was unable to keep up with his sensational pace on day two, but went on to finish the Invitational in sixth place.
‘I played my best golf of the weekend on the front nine of the second round,” Chudacoff said.
It was not until he hit the turn that things began to fall apart.
‘On day 2 at Naz, I think it was just a combination of maybe pressing too hard to carry the team and not overcoming a few early mistakes on the back nine,” head coach Dan Wesley said. ‘Michael is a fine player, and it’s our job as a team to pick him up when he’s off. We all pick each other up when we need it period.”
Despite the strong overall individual finish in the tournament, Chudacoff still believes that he needs to get more consistent with his play.
‘Both rounds were plagued by a combination of a lack of focus and poor club selection,” he said.
Freshman Marc Youngentob was the ‘Jackets’ best finisher in the tournament. His performance followed up a successful St. Lawrence Invitational last weekend in which he earned Liberty League Rookie of the Year. He tied for third at Nazareth with a five-over 77 on the first day of action, and shot 75 on day two a score that placed him only one shot back of the best score of the day.
‘[Youngentob] has been fantastic for us this fall,” Wesley said. ‘He is a great competitor with composure beyond his years.”
After struggling in his first round, senior Brandon Isobe shot a competitive three-over 75 on Sunday. He finished in eighth place overall. Sophomore David Wien finished tied for 10th place, 16 shots off of Cieslinski. Junior Ryan Williams finished 12th after rounds of 78 and 83.
The team concludes its fall schedule this weekend in Mamaroneck, N.Y. at the New York University Fall Classic. Chudacoff reiterated the need for the team to remain focused down the stretch, especially on their short game and establishing a good course strategy next week.
‘We need to go into NYU with confidence and understand that each one of us can win the tournament individually, but most importantly, we can win as a team,” he said.
Wesley was similarly looking forward to NYU.
‘The thing I’m most excited about for this week down at NYU is simply getting back into competition to put the Nazareth tournament behind us,” Wesley said. ‘As a team, we feel we let that one get away.”
Wasserman is a member of the class of 2010.
