The men’s golf team showed quality play this past weekend, finishing fifth at the NESCAC Qualifier hosted at the par-72 Brunswick Golf Club. Berths for the NESCAC Golf Championship tournament in late April went to the top four performers at this competition, while the top finisher earned the right to host the prestigious competition.
The Polar Bears entered the tournament coming off a hard-fought 16th place finish out of 24 at the Williams Invitational last weekend.
The NESCAC Qualifier included teams from ten NESCAC schools, pitting the top-five performers from each school against each other. Bowdoin was represented by seniors Thomas Lilly, Bobby Kaminski and Matt Mathias, along with Dusty Biron ’15 and Thomas Spagnola ’17.
“We have a very strong senior class which has created healthy competition for the starting five spots,” explained senior captain Thomas Lilly. “Having tournament experience and being comfortable on the course when the pressure is on is a huge aspect of playing golf at a high level. Our seniors bring this to the table every weekend. This has also brought out the best in some of our underclassmen.”
The first day of the NESCAC Qualifier saw the Polar Bears finish in fourth place with a score of 311, while Middlebury came in first at 292. The top performer for Bowdoin was Lilly, who shot an impressive 74—just four strokes above the lowest individual score of the tournament.
On the second day of action, Bowdoin stayed consistent and earned a score of 315, rounding out their play with a team score of 626. Unfortunately, a massive turnaround from a determined Amherst squad saw the Lord Jeffs shoot a 302 on the day, 15 strokes under their first day performance, moving from fifth to third in the process.
Amherst’s improved performance on day two, coupled with consistent play from the other top three finishers of the first day marginally edged Bowdoin out of a top-four finish. Williams was able to claim the last qualifying spot, shooting just four strokes under Bowdoin. Tufts, the sixth-place squad, shot 15 strokes over the Polar Bears.
Middlebury closed out the weekend with a total score of 595 to win the NESCAC Qualifier, earning them the right to host the NESCAC Championship.
“As seniors, we knew this was our last chance to have an impact and qualify for the spring tournament, something Bowdoin golf has never done,” said Matt Mathias ’14. “We adopted a new practice regimen all designed to help us be in the top four at the NESCAC tournament. Unfortunately, we came up a little short.”
“I am very proud of the collective effort we pulled together last weekend,” Lilly added. “This is the closest we have ever come to qualifying.”
Although the Polar Bears think they have a lot to be proud about from their NESCAC Qualifier tournament, they must now prepare for their next challenge this weekend, when they travel to the Waterville Country Club to compete in the Colby Classic.
Head Coach Tom Fortson is determined to finish out the season with a continually high standard of play.
“We still have two more weeks of competition so we will put our effort towards that,” he says. “We have to focus this week in practice, we are certainly very focused and motivated to find success against our main rivals.”