Golf Teams Look to Make Noise in October Nescac Tourneys

Last weekend, Sept. 23 to 24, the men’s and women’s golf teams were back on the tees as they continue tuning up for Nescac events at the beginning of October. In preparation for its visit to Connecticut for the Nescac qualifier, the men’s squad was in action at Williams’ Taconic Golf Course in Williamstown, Massachusetts, while the women’s squad was still two weeks away from the Nescac championship and tuning up at the Mount Holyoke Invitational.

On the men’s side, it was the team’s last chance to tune up for this weekend’s Nescac qualifier which will be held at Indian Hill Country Club in Newington, Connecticut, Trinity’s home course.

For the Panthers to qualify for the Nescac championship in the spring, they will need to place among the top four teams in the qualifier. Middlebury’s fifth-place finish in the Williams Fall Classic last weekend was nevertheless a good sign of things to come, as only two Nescac rivals finished ahead of them ­­– defending conference champion Williams and Trinity.

Jeffrey Giguere ’20 once again led the way for the Panthers. With a 72 on Saturday and a 74 on Sunday, Giguere continues his string of scores in the mid-to-low 70s, driving down the team’s scores.

I don’t know if the team feels that I singularly need to step it up, although it’s true that I do. I would say I need to build off of the good weekend I had and the positive things I did over the course of 36 holes. As much as golf is individual, our success will depend on the consistency of our team scoring. The sentiment among all of us is that we collectively need to do a better job of preparing for this coming weekend. We all need to identify the particular part or parts of our game that need work and take it upon ourselves to find time outside of normal practice times to tighten them up. Unfortunately, we are no longer top dog in the NESCAC, and we can’t become complacent. Trinity is a very strong competitor, as is Williams. We have our hands full, but we have shown we have the capability to do it.

“With regard to the qualifier, we did talk about how we would have finished third had it been this past weekend,” Giguere said. “Even though that means we are to be in a position to be in contention next spring, we are by no means happy with that.”

Giguere asserts that the team’s collective goal is higher.

“Our collective goal is to win the qualifier at Trinity so we can bring the NESCAC Championship to Middlebury in a few months,” Giguere said. “If we accomplish that goal, the offseason will feel so much better and we would have so much more confidence going into the spring. We need a really solid week of committed preparation, and what happens this coming weekend will be the best we could have done.”

Giguere also praised McDaniel’s efforts.

“He finished off last season strong,” Giguere said of his teammate.

Joe Ko ’18 followed what was an excellent performance in the 34th-annual Duke Nelson Invitational with another solid weekend as he rebounded from a round of 83 on Saturday to card a 76 on Sunday.

The highlight of the weekend for the men’s squad, though, was probably the experience that two of the team’s newest members gained. Jordan Bassalel ’21 and John Mikus ’21 both had their first of many chances to play at Taconic. Bassalel shot 79 and 81 for a total score of 160 for the weekend and Mikus shot 78 and 85 for a 163.

On the women’s side, the Panthers managed a total team score of 634 for the weekend and fourth-place finish out of 18 competing teams. The Panthers were 30 shots back of the tournament champion Williams, but still have one week to make up ground on the perennial conference power.

Blake Yaccino ’20 was the team’s low-scorer, as she carded rounds of 75 and 79. Yaccino hopes to work on her second day performance in this weekend’s George Phinney Tournament at the Ralph, as she has yet to shoot better on Sundays than on Saturdays. Nonetheless, to those around the team Yaccino seems to be hitting her stride.

“I am definitely capable of scoring low as are my teammates,” Yaccino said. “For me, I just need to put in the reps and make a few adjustments in my swing this week to improve my consistency. We’re all extremely excited and I think we will all play well in the next two weeks.”

Chloe Levins ’20 also had another solid performance for the Panthers, registering the team’s second-lowest score of the week with rounds of 79 and 78.

Like Yaccino, Hope Matthews ’18 has also started to hit her stride at the right time. Matthews hit an 82 on Saturday and then had her lowest round of the fall on Sunday with a round of 77.

Team leader Katharine Fortin ’18 did not take part in last week’s tournament, but look for her to be out there for the Panthers this weekend on the Ralph.

“I am looking forward to next weekend on our home turf,” Fortin said. “We will have an advantage over the other teams because the greens at the Ralph are difficult and knowing how they roll will set us up for opportunities to beat the field.”

Although the team was 30 strokes back of Williams last weekend, they did manage to hang with Amherst and ended up six strokes behind the Mammoths.

“I am still very optimistic about this team’s success,” Fortin said. “The level of focus has increased immensely and we have the lower scores to prove it. It’s exciting to see returning players shooting more consistently in the 70s, especially Yaccino and Levins. I am also hopeful that our first year, Erika Nakagawa ’21, will keep improving as she becomes more confident and comfortable in collegiate competition.”

The women’s squad will tee off at the Ralph for the George Phinney Classic on Saturday at noon, while the men’s squad will be in action in Connecticut looking to clinch another bid to another Nescac championship.