In the second half of the golf season, Elizabethtown College finally returned home to the Hershey Country Club East for the Elizabethtown College Invitational match. Eight other schools participated in the event, including Catholic University and Juniata College from the Landmark Conference. In the fall, Etown took home fifth place shooting 32 over par with a total score of 316, only nine shots behind the first-place teams of Juniata and Moravian University, who tied with scores of 23 over par with team totals of 307. After finishing seventh overall in the Alvernia Invitational a few days prior, the Blue Jays hoped to bounce back with a strong performance on their home course.
The course itself is a Par 71, featuring rolling fairways, daunting greens, bunkers and other hazards with trees and creeks playing a factor. The teams would have a tough time dealing with this course, especially with its high course rating of 74.5. Through the already difficult conditions, the posted 15-mile-per-hour gusts of wind will prove challenging for the golfers.
Under career-low performances by first-year Jeremy Otto and sophomore Dylan Poalucci, Etown finished first overall of the 11 registered teams, shooting 31 over par as a team with a score of 315. Otto and Poalucci finished the tournament tied for the fifth-best scores, rounding out their performances seven over par, only two shots over the overall best player. Junior Chris Kilduff finished right behind, ending his day eight over par, tying for ninth overall. Juniors Drew Byrd and John Harrison rounded out the scores for Etown, finishing nine over par and 10 over par respectively. Through these performances, the Blue Jays edged out second-place Moravian by one shot, as they finished 32 over par as a team, and third-place Catholic by five shots, who finished 36 over par as a team. Individually, senior Tanner Wetzel finished 60th overall, earning a score of 100 and shooting 29 over par, and senior Ben Robbins rounded out the Blue Jays after shooting 33 over par and finishing in 62nd place.
Etown fielded a B-team in the invitational, who finished 9th overall, tying Lebanon Valley College after shooting 61 over par as a team and with a total score of 345. Leading the team was senior Zachery Clapper, posting a score of 85 and finishing 14 over par, tied for 31st overall. Junior Jude Kane and senior Tyler Souders finished behind Clapper, both earning a score of 89 and shooting 18 over par, tying for 48th overall. Souders’s score of 89 is his season-low performance, improving on his prior best of 92 at the Elizabethtown Fall Invitational this season.
The women’s golf team competed at home at the Hershey Country Club East, finishing third of the five teams competing in their invitational with a score of 424 and shooting 140 over par. Senior Grace Flocco led the Blue Jays, rounding out her performance with a score of 92 and shooting 21 over par to place 12th overall in the competition. Junior Allyia Kennedy and senior Summer McNulty tied for 24th overall, ending their days with a score of 109 and finishing 38 over par. Juniors Alayna Kichman and Jillian Schwarz wrapped up Etown’s performance, scoring 43 over par and 52 over par, finishing 27th and 28th respectively.
The men’s team will finish their golf season at Susquehanna University on April 17 and at Penn State-Abington on April 22 before the Landmark Conference Championships. The women’s team will play their next match at the Landmark Conference Championships on April 26 and April 27 at the Shawnee-On-The-Delaware Golf Club in Shawnee Delaware, Pennsylvania.
