Elizabethtown College’s golf team recently competed at the Gettysburg Fall Invitational. Junior Ryan Laudeman shot his best round of the fall and tied for runner-up, helping the Jays tie for tenth place as a team. The Invitational was held at the Bridges Golf Club on Thursday, Sept. 19.
Laudeman’s one-over-par score of 73 was enough to finish one stroke back of the leader, Steven Tanen of McDaniel College. Laudeman was able to register his first top-five finish of this season and his third second place tie of his career. These ties came along with a first place tie and two outright wins in his time at Etown. Laudeman was able to lower his career average to a 77.9 with the outstanding round and dropped his season average to 76.0.
First-year Austin Bennett turned in the second-best scorecard for the Jays, making his Blue Jay debut. He scored an 81 (+9) in a tie for 36th with Gettysburg’s Morgan Arturi. Fellow first-year Chuck Johnston tied for 52nd with a score 86 (+14) while Dan Sheppard recorded an 89 (+17) as the final scorer for the Jays.
While McDaniel’s Steven Tanen won the individual title, he propelled the Green Terror to a combined 301 (+13), a three-shot victory over the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats. The top five was rounded out with York College, Messiah College and Susquehanna University. Etown recorded a 329 (+41) to tie Stevenson.
However, the Jays were not as lucky as they moved into the weekend. The two-day Franklin & Marshall Fall Invitational saw struggles for the team on the Bent Creek Country Club course. Laudeman and first-year Kyle Hakun were the top finishers at the event in a tie for 60th, both with rounds of 85 (+14). York teammates Kevin Long and David Boslough and Franklin & Marshall’s Jared Brown shot 1-under-par for the invitational, 15 shots ahead of the Etown duo. Johnston finished one shot back from his fellow Blue Jays with an 86 (+15) while sophomore Adam Amspacher shot an 88 (+17).
The York Spartans were driven into the lead by their two top scorers, both shooting under par. The Spartans captured the team title with a combined 302 (+18) to give them a four stroke lead over Messiah. The Diplomats of Franklin & Marshall finished in the top three, with Rutgers University-Camden and Stevenson University placing fourth and fifth respectively.
The top teams were in a close race to the end, separated by only eight strokes. The Blue Jays scored a combined 360 (+44), finishing 16th.
Etown is looking forward to turning it around this coming weekend at the Susquehanna Invitational. The two-day event will occur on Sunday, Sept. 29 and Monday, Sept. 30. The Blue Jays will finish their fall season on Thursday, Oct. 3, with the Etown Fall Blue Jay Classic at the Hershey Links.
