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SEPT.
6 — Leafs Shatter 2005's Best In Season Opener
Team charts
332 in Goshen College Invite; outdoes last year's best by 16 shots |
Millersburg, IN — With a deepened
roster featuring four talented newcomers, Goshen head men’s
golf coach Cory Furman said he was curious as to how long it would
take this year’s squad to outdo last season’s best
team effort.
His answer?
One match.
Goshen shot a team total 332 at the second annual Goshen College
Invitational at Timber Ridge Golf Course Wednesday afternoon, bettering
its lowest score of 2005 (348) by 16 strokes. The season-opening
match kept the program on its downward scoring trend — the
Leafs’ lowest
mark in 2005 came at the season-ending Mid-Central Conference Championships.
“I knew that this year’s team would be much deeper
than last year’s, but I wasn’t sure how we’d
do today considering this was the first intercollegiate match for
the majority of our
team,” Furman said. “While a lot of our guys can get
lower, I was pleased with how we handled ourselves overall.”
Goshen’s team score was good for third overall, bettering
Purdue University-North Central’s 339 tally. The University
of St. Francis took team medalist honors in firing a 309, while
Grace College finished second with a 320.
Furman’s squad rode the consistent shoulders of its number
one golfer for the past two seasons — senior Joel Kauffman — who
again finished with team-best honors in shooting a 78. Freshman
Zach Wright stole the inter-squad show, however, firing a 79 while
playing in the Leafs’ number five position.
“Zach fired a 93 in his challenge match round, and he told
me he thought he could do much better than that once he slowed
down and
focused on each shot specifically,” Furman said. “He
proved that today. He’s got a very smooth swing, and he started
to chip and putt very well as the match went on today.”
Kauffman’s 78 and Wright’s 79 were coupled with junior
Chad Unrein’s 88 and freshman Shawn Martz’s 87 for
the Leafs’ final team score — collegiate golf uses
a team’s top four scores out of six players — though
Furman said both did not scratch the surface of their capabilities.
“Shawn and Chad were playing in their first official college
match today, and both were upset with what they carded,” Furman
said. “Both have the talent and capability to shoot much
lower, and I’m sure they will as our season progresses.”
The University of St. Francis’ Alex Fanning took home individual
medalist honors — and the vaunted Goshen College Invitational
Trophy — by shooting a 71, the lowest score in the tournament’s
two-year history. St. Francis captured its second consecutive GC
Invite team title, shooting just one shot off its 2005 score of
308.
Goshen, meanwhile, blew apart its 364 score from one year ago at
the event, causing Furman to look forward to the remainder of the
season.
“This is a team that’s excited about what it can get
done collectively,” Furman said. “We just want to focus
on trying to keep improving individually from match to match. The
team scoring and individual positioning will take care of itself
from there.”
Senior captain Tyler Roth participated in an exhibition match for
the Leafs, firing a 92. That mark will put Roth back into competition
for Goshen’s next match. The Leafs will travel to Grace College
on Tuesday for a triangular match at the prestigious Stonehenge
Golf Course. Initial tee time is set for 9 a.m.
Final Results
Goshen College Invitational
Timber Ridge Golf Course
UNIVERSITY OF ST. FRANCIS – (309) Potts, 43/38 81; Fanning,
36/35 71; Domenico, 41/41 82; Overmyer, 47/42 89; Belville, 37/38 75 Foster,
43/53
96
GRACE COLLEGE – (320) Laborde, 41/39 80;
Whalen 38/38 76; Priode, 43/38 81; Shaub, 44/43 87; Mills, 43/40
83; Roth,
43/40
83
GOSHEN COLLEGE – (332)
Kauffman, 41/37 78; Unrein, 46/42 88; Martz, 41/46 87; Troyer,
48/45 93; Wright, 40/39 79; Springer, 48/51 99 (Exhibition: Roth,
43/49 92)
PURDUE UNIVERSITY-NORTH CENTRAL – (339)
Lofberg, 40/41 81; Martinez, 41/44 85; Selman, 43/40 83; Brian,
46/44 90; Mike, 55/56 111 |
  Senior
Joel Kauffman
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