Golfers Win at Skidmore, Place Tenth at Taconic

Author: Jeff Martin

The Middlebury Panthers golf team continues to lower its team score with every tournament. Its hectic fall schedule last week included an impressive victory over the field at the Skidmore Fall Classic, before enduring a rain shortened Williams Invitational over the weekend.
The low-pressure system that moved over the Northeast on Saturday afternoon brought the Williams Invitational to an abrupt finish, along with any hope of a Sunday turnaround for the Panther golf team. Williams head golf coach Rick Pohle commented, "The heavy overnight rains and unplayable conditions forced tournament officials to cancel the second day of the event." It was the first time in the 18-year history of the tournament that the weather abridged play at the Taconic Golf Course. Emory College was the fortunate victor in this unpredicted one-day event with a round of 285. Ross Morgan, the tournament's medallist, shot a 68 for the second place Skidmore Thoroughbreds. The Panthers chimed in with a round of 304 on Saturday, a round they had hoped to improve upon on Sunday. However, that not being an option, the Panthers settled for a 10th place finish in the 24-team field. Ryan Birtwell '04 remarked, "I can undoubtedly say that I was frustrated about the shortened match. I love battling it out in treacherous conditions, and I really feel that we could have pulled away from the field if we had played on Sunday."
Individually, the Panthers had a number of bright spots as Brad Tufts '03 continued his torrid play with an even par 71, placing him fifth on the individual leaderboard. Tufts offered up that it was "one of my better rounds, but it could've been a bit lower, the course played easier than normal due to the humidity and slower green speeds. It stinks that the second day had to be cancelled, as we were looking forward to making a move up the leaderboard that was stacked with several very good schools from down south." Other members of the team including Damon Gacicia '02.5 and Birtwell shot solid rounds of 73 and 77 respectively. Mike Walsh-Ellis '03 and Ryan Simper '03 were equally as frustrated not to have another crack at the Taconic on Sunday.
The Panthers did, however, fair tremendously well last Wednesday, Sept. 18, as they took home the trophy at the Skidmore Fall Classic. Middlebury narrowly escaped the grasp of long time nemesis Williams as the two teams tied atop the leaderboard with rounds of 305. When the teams top four scorecards match they use the fifth player's score as the tiebreaker and fortunately Middlebury was able to better its Williams foe.
The real headline during this event was the re-emergence of Gacicia, who splendidly captivated the galleries with a one-under round of 71, earning him tournament honors. Gacicia added, "I hit the ball incredibly well, it was one of my more solid rounds this entire year, which included three birdies in four holes towards the middle of my round." Not far behind was Tufts with a steady round of 74 and a fourth place individual finish.
Furthermore, the Panthers received an incredible lift from Walsh-Ellis, making his Middlebury varsity golf debut with a healthy 78 (14th place overall). Walsh-Ellis commented, "First off, the best part about beating Williams is that they all play with their collars up and think that they are the hottest [stuff] around, but once they found out that they lost, they started bickering. I had no familiarity with the course and it was my first tournament for Middlebury, so I almost soiled my pants on the first tee and it didn't help when I hit my first tee shot off the hozzle of the club for an 80-yard, hard slice. Things were made exponentially worse when I was 1-under par after nine holes. I was in unchartered territory and felt like Tiger Woods. However, after soiling myself a second time, I quickly came back down to earth, but finished with a score that I was pretty happy with."
The Panthers will return home to the Ralph Myhre Golf Course this weekend as they play host to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships beginning at 1pm on Saturday. Families and friends will be admitted at no charge.