Ashley Ferguson
Sports Editor
The Wooster golf teams competed at the two-day North Coast Athletic Conference Fall Preview at Westbrook Country Club in Mansfield, Oh. earlier this week, struggling against cold, gusting winds and pouring rain starting on the final day of fall break.
The men’s team finished in a tie for fourth place with Allegheny College on Monday. After starting off slow in seventh place on Sunday, the team improved significantly thanks to skillful career or season bests and several consistent games.
Ric Reynolds ’19 stood out with a career best, striking one over par of 72 on day two. After having started out notching 83 points on Sunday, he rounded his score out to a total of 156, good for a tie at the no. 17 slot. He followed behind Colin O’Hern ’21, who tied for the no. 11 rank among the nearly 50-player field with 153 points. On Sunday, O’Hern shot 76 and followed through on Monday with a consistent 77, leveling his score to less than 10 over par.
Evan Ferrara ’20 and David Roney ’21 were not far behind, each notching 161 total on the 6,910-yard course. Raghu Bir Choudhary ’19 rounded out the team with 170 points. Brendan Tully ’18 competed individually and scored consistently both days, marking 81 on Sunday and 82 on Monday, good for 32nd place.
“The NCAC Fall Preview went well,” said Reynolds. “The first day was a bit of a struggle for all of us. Conditions were tough, it was very windy, cold and rainy. As a team we finished with 326 strokes, something we were not proud of for the first round. The second day we were happy to bounce back with 305 strokes.”
“Individually, I was happy but not satisfied,” he said. “I would say that I have had a pretty consistent season with gradual improvement. I am pleased with finishing the fall season by putting up my low round of the year.”
“This team has a ton of potential,” said Reynolds. “I am looking forward to continuing this hard work in the spring.”
The Wooster women placed fourth overall on their par-74 course. Victoria Roney ’18 placed tenth out of 35 competitors. Like Reynolds, she dropped several points on the second day. On Sunday, she marked 92 points, and on Monday whittled it down to 81 for a two-day total of 173 points.
“The first day was definitely a rough round for me. Winds were 20 mph and it was raining, making conditions tough to play in,” said Roney. “I came back on the second day and shot my best round of the fall 2017 season.”
“As a senior, I set high goals for myself,” she said. “Fortunately, I came back on the second round and placed in the top 10 in the championship. This small victory doesn’t satisfy me but gets me exhilarated for the spring season of my senior year.”
Teammate Tongtong Wu ’21 came close behind Roney with strokes of 87 and 89 for a five-way tie at no. 12. Lilly Dunning ’21 was ranked no. 18 with strokes of 88 and 91, while Kaci Carpenter ’20 and Hannah Appleman ’20 placed in the top 25 after strokes of 186 and 188 respectively. Megan Gronau ’21 rounded out the scorers with a two-day total of 192.
“We are excited for next season,” said Roney. “We’re the comeback kids.”
This was the last tournament for the Scots until the spring break refresher.