June 9, 2004
by David Goott

Golf loses by four strokes, is runner-up in tournament
After finishing the regular season with a 7-1 record, the golf team failed to win the postseason tournament, losing to the Washington International Red Devils by five strokes.

In the playoffs, the four lowest scores of each team were added together to obtain a team score of 197.

Sophomore Josh Starr shot a team best 43, yet still lost by two strokes to the leader.

According to Starr, although losing was a disappointment, no one player should be accounted for the Lions’ loss.

“It was a really tough course to play on, and it just came down to a few strokes,” Starr said, “The loss was nobody’s fault.”
According to junior Jordan Fabian, the team’s confidence prior to the tournament was fairly high, however did not contribute to the team’s loss. Despite the disappointing loss,however, the Lions’ feelings after the tournament were not entirely negative.

“I am proud of what we did this season, and finishing five strokes out, although disappointing, it’s pretty respectable,” said Fabian.

However, Fabian feels that in order for the Lions to improve their performance in next year’s tournament, the returning players need to improve their work ethic in the offseason. “When you play in a lot of matches, you familiarize yourself with the courses, with which clubs to use in certain situations, and with how the greens behave on each hole. The younger players that are coming in are going to need to not just go to the practice range,” Fabian said, “but also really put themselves in match-like situations over the offseason in order to compensate for the loss in experience.”

In addition to having to deal with the loss of four juniors, the team will be forced next year to adjust to a new coach.

Zachary Lese, the team’s coach this year, is transferring from Montgomery College to Rollins College in Florida to play Division II golf.

Nevertheless, Starr feels that the loss of integral juniors outweighs the loss of their coach.

“The fact that we will have a new coach next year is not really the issue. The main concern is that we are losing three key players,” Starr said.