Flyer Invitational Caps Off A Strong Fall Season
Brendan Zdunek
Contributing Writer
Autumn has started to make its presence known on campus with colder temperatures, higher winds and leaves falling off trees. In spite of the colder weather and some weather delays, both the men’s and women’s golf team came ready to play in the annual Flyer Invitational at NCR Country Club in Kettering last Monday and Tuesday. In the invitational, the men’s team got second overall amongst the other teams and the women’s team got fourth overall, giving both teams a good end to the fall season. Head coach Sally Kosters of the women’s golf team was especially pleased with her team’s performance for the season.
“Overall, the entire fall we did well. We started out strong. We played a number of tournaments where we put in very good scores. Where we ended up in the [Flyer] Invitational was similar,” said Kosters.
Although the results were pretty, the weather was quite the opposite. For the men’s team, play was suspended on Monday, and for the women’s team, the shotgun time for Tuesday was pushed back to 11 a.m. due to forecasted frost in the area. Despite the adverse weather conditions, it was a circumstance that both teams were used to.
“Our players are pretty used to playing a last tournament in October in weather that might get cold. We’re also used to playing in spring weather that is extremely bad,” said Kosters.
The men’s team played 54 holes, and in the end, finished overall at 14 over par, only five strokes back of the winner, Davidson, who were at 9 over par. Head coach Gip Roagland’s team was led by senior Jake Gilkison who placed sixth amongst all the players in the tournament. He scored a 71 on the first 18, then followed with a 73 and a 69 in the next pair of 18 holes, bringing him to even par.
Sophomores Domenic Maricocchi and Hayden Zimmerer also performed well, finishing at 1-over-par and 4-over-par, respectively. 15 birdies were carded by the whole team and three of the players, Ryan Flick, Andrew Hinkebein and Frankie Morgan, got an eagle over the course of the tournament. The stats show that the men’s team had a successful turnout at the Flyer Invitational and end the fall season on a good note. They will return for the spring season on Feb. 18 for the Atlantic-10 Match Play Event.
On the other side, the women’s team did a great job, finishing fourth overall at 41-over-par. Even more importantly, the Flyers posted a program-low of 295 on the day on the second day. The one leading the charge was junior Ellie Cronin, who finished fourth amongst players at four-over-par. She parred 24 of 36 holes and birdied four holes as well. Cronin even posted a 69 on Tuesday, a career-low round for her.
“I was pretty pleased with my performance overall. On Tuesday, I just went to go out have fun and just go finish off the fall season,” said Cronin.
Coach Kosters points to a characteristic of Ellie’s for the success her player has had.
“Ellie Cronin is an extremely focused player and her eye is on making the shot. That focus is what makes her a great player,” said Kosters.
Alongside Ellie were a number of her teammates who had good performances as well. These include freshman Sarah Frazier and sophomore Abby Bitto who were both 11-over-par, junior Alissa Danielson who was 16-over-par and sophomore Alexandra Bozich who was 26-over-par. All of these scores added up to one of the best overall performances the women’s golf team has ever had.
This caps off a great fall season that has pleased not only Kosters, but players like Cronin as well.
“We were really happy with the way it ended and how we did end on a high note for the fall,” said Cronin.
With the fall season and the Flyer Invitational behind them, there is an optimistic outlook on the spring season for both teams which will start in February.