Baumann '08 played like a man among boys Wins NESCACs after shooting 69

Author: Jake Cohen

Raise your glasses to George Baumann '08 of the Middlebury men's golf team, who earned medalist honors by shooting 69-75 at Shuttle Meadow Country Club in Kensington, Conn. at the NESCAC championship hosted by Trinity. Despite Baumann's finish in solo first, the team placed third after losing a tie-breaker to Hamilton.

"We knew this weekend that anyone could win it," said captain Harrison Bane '08.5. "It was just a matter of who was going to hold their concentration and make putts."

Bane was correct, but on day one that player was not him - he shot an 80 with double bogeys on 14 and 18.

"That was a huge disappointment," said Bane. Nevertheless, the veteran rallied on day two to shoot 74 and Middlebury's second-lowest score of the day.

The star of the weekend, however, was Baumann who edged Drew Murray of Williams by one shot. The victory represented the payoff for the senior's intense dedication to his game.

Baumann has woken up at 7:30 a.m. every weekday morning for the past few weeks in order to go hit balls and work on his swing. His hard work paid off in a big way this past weekend. On Saturday, this Panther shot an impressive 69 (-2) to take the overall individual lead. He secured the individual victory with a 75 on day 2 to finish with 144 (+2) overall.

Behind Baumann was Brian Cady '11 who shot a 152 and edged out teammate and classmate Jim Levins '11, who finished at 153. Bane was right behind the two with 154 and Mike McCormick '09 rounded out Middlebury's team with a solid 160.

The Williams Ephs bounced back after being defeated by Middlebury the weekend before to capture the NESCAC title. As a team, they shot 590, 13 strokes ahead of Hamilton and Middlebury.