Five Yellowjacket scores broke 80 as the UR golf team placed sixth at the Hamilton Fall Invitational on Oct. 4-5.
Leading the charge for the ‘Jackets was freshman Michael Buenaventura, who tied for eighth place individually. This was the first top-20 placement for Buenaventura, who took 32nd in the Guy W. Kuhn Invitational three weeks ago.
A native of Weston, Mass., Buenaventura shot a seven-over 150 through two days of play to propel the Yellowjackets into sixth place in a field of 16 New York-area teams.
The Invite took place on two different courses. The first day, play was on the Yahnundasis golf course in New Hartford, N.Y. Par was 71. The second day, competition was held on the Skenandoa Club’s shorter, 72-par course.
Buenaventura fared best on day two, when he shot a three-over 75.
Skidmore College took first place, shooting 585 as a team through two days of competition a score that was 28 strokes better than the second place team. Three golfers from Skidmore tied for first place individually with an overall score of 147.
Matt Canavan of Skidmore shot the weekend’s only score below 70, logging a 69 the first day of competition.
UR had four golfers place in the top 50. Behind Buenaventura, senior Jon Pecor finished in a tie for 27th place, shooting a 79 on the first day and a 77 on day two.
Tying for 38th place, sophomore Ryan Williams recovered from an 80 the first day, carding a 78 through 18 holes at Skenandoa. Sophomore Dave Wien was the final ‘Jacket to score in the top 50. Wien shot an 83 the first day and, like Williams, improved on day two, recording a five-over 77.
The Yellowjacket’s last placing golfer was sophomore Chris Driscoll, who shot a 165 through two days.
UR placed behind New York University, Williams College, Middlebury College, Salem State College and Skidmore.
Skidmore ranks third nationally according to head-to-head standings computed by golfstat.com.
UR’s next competition is this Sunday in Hampstead, Md., where it will be competing in the McDaniel Fall Invitational. The trip will be UR’s last until the spring.
The fall season has been a great opportunity for this young UR team to show its potential. The ‘Jackets had a couple notable performances in the past month, including a second-place finish at the Liberty League Championships and a third-place finish at the Allegheny Invitational.
The sophomore class has been a productive group thus far, and Pecor has been effective as a leader on the course.
UR’s spring season begins in early April, when it competes in the Mid-Atlantic Invitational.
Hilfinger is a member of the class of 2010.
