ophomore Ryan Laudeman took his second tournament victory of the season Monday at the Glenmaura National Collegiate Invitational in Moosic, Pa. After two days, he finished four over par with a score of 146. First-year Adam Amspacher was the next highest Blue Jay to finish; he tied for 21st with a two-day score of 162. Overall, Elizabethtown College finished in eighth place with a team total of 669 (+101). The University of Scranton captured the team title.
On the first day of the invitational, Laudeman hit a three-over-par round of 74, placing him in a two-way tie for second, two shots off the lead. Etown finished Sunday at ninth in the standings with a score of 342 (+58), setting them six shots behind Gettysburg College and Marywood University, who were tied for seventh.
After day one was over on Sunday, Amspacher tied for 24th and was carded an 83 (+12). Sophomore starter Ryan Forbes shot 92 in the first round. First-year Austin Blanco was one stroke back with a 93 and junior Austin Good shot a 99. Kevin Long of York, Pa. was tied for second with Laudeman in the individual standings. Laudeman and Long were three strokes ahead of the other three players hoping to place fifth.
On the second day, Laudeman bettered his first day round and shot a 72. Two other golfers – Stephen Welkie from Susquehanna University and Alex Matos from McDaniel College – shot better than Laudeman with 71s. Long picked up a 73 on the day, but Laudeman was still able to pick up the victory. Forbes finished the tournament with a 85 (+15) and Blanco and Good both scored a 90 (+19).
Laudeman also won the Lebanon Valley College Spring Invitational April 1. When asked about his performance for the year so far, Laudeman stated that he could always play better. “I started off the year grinding my way around the golf course and was playing pretty well,” Laudeman said. “However, I’ve been struggling at the last few tournaments, but that’s all part of the game. I’m working on a new swing and I’m confident where my game is headed coming into the last few weeks.” Laudeman hoped to finish in the top 5 this weekend at Glenmaura, and he achieved that goal.
The Blue Jays have been trying different techniques to better themselves for the matches they have left in the year. “It’s more repetition so that we are consistently doing the same thing because everyone has a different swing and not everyone is going to hit the same shot,” Forbes said. “If we ever struggle we can go to our coach or our captain, Laudeman, and they will help us out.”
“The team always works hard on the games for every tournament,” Laudeman stated. “I’ve started to really help the guys out on the team with their swings and different kinds of shots they should hit in certain situations, and we’re becoming more consistent with hitting fairways and greens.”
