Matt Riccio is a senior on the NYU men's golf team. He will share his thoughts in this space throughout the 2011-12 season.
Written October 13
It’s been a trying month for NYU men’s golf since my first entry. I told myself that I wasn't going to write another post until I had some really strong team scores to report. Sadly, with one weekend left of our fall season, I'm still waiting for us to play to the level I know we're capable of. But, the blog needs an update, and I’m feeling optimistic about this upcoming weekend, so here we go…
We followed our season opener with a trip to Williamstown, MA, for the Williams College Invitational. Playing on one of my personal favorite courses, Taconic Golf Club, we knew going into the tournament that we were in for a challenge. The par-71 course plays at over 6,800 yards and was made all the more difficult that weekend by thick rough and very wet conditions. Nonetheless, getting to play such a great course had us all really looking forward to the rounds and very optimistic about our chances. You always hope to play your best on great courses, and I really believed going into the tournament that this weekend had the potential to be the spark our team needed to get going. For that reason, our 14th place finish felt even worse than it was. As a team aspiring to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, Sunday totals of 331 just aren't unacceptable. We knew we needed to bounce back the following week at the ECAC Tournament.
Sadly, that next weekend ended in a similarly frustrating fashion. Having finished second in the tournament last year, our aim was to bring an ECAC Championship back with us to the city. After a six-hour drive north, we arrived in Rochester to 40-degree temperatures and torrential rains. Round One of the tournament was perhaps the most challenging day I've ever been a part of on a golf course. It's not often that I'll admit to being satisfied with a score in the low-80s (and even in this case it pains me to say it), but in those conditions, Kyle, Tim and I were pretty proud of the resilience we showed while posting scores of 81, 81, and 84, respectively. It would have been easy in weather like that to lose focus, but we all did our best to remain level-headed and ended up finishing in the Top-25 as individuals for our efforts. That said, as a team we knew that we had left plenty of strokes out on the course and really felt like if we could regroup and go out firing on Sunday, we could score much better and improve on our fourth-place position. Mother Nature, however, clearly had other ideas. The temperature dropped even lower, the rain came down harder, the wind picked up, and, eventually, the tournament was called off.
Frustrated yet again, we packed our bags and headed back to the city. We worked hard all week at practice in preparation for Hamilton. Warmer weather and some excellent food had us all raring to go as we headed into the first round looking to recapture our best form. For me, individually, Saturday showed glimpses of that form, as even with three three-putts I was able to shoot a season-low 72 on a very demanding Yahnundasis Golf Club. Though I wasn’t able to maintain that solid play in Round Two, freshman Kevin Chien, playing as an individual, also showed the type of scores he’s capable of, firing a fantastic 73 after his Round One 79, placing him 10
th individually. Kyle kept up his steady play, going 77-77, and again, while still not happy, we left the tournament with reason to remain optimistic.
All in all, it has definitely been a tough stretch for us. But, spirits are still high as we continue to look forward. As a senior, I’ve been on the winning and losing end with the team. But, no matter what, our response has always been the same: get back to practice, work hard and remain focused. In these past few weeks, we’ve seen some of the best and worst of our play. We know we’ve got the talent and have put in the time and effort. Now it’s time to put the negatives behind us, move on, and perform as well as I know we can.
We have one weekend left, and it should be a great finish to our fall season as we’ll be playing Hudson National Golf Course in a tournament hosted by our very own NYU and Manhattanville. I’m hopeful that those strong team scores I’ve been waiting to report on are coming in the very near future.
Matt Riccio is a senior on the NYU men's golf team. He will share his thoughts in this space throughout the 2011-12 season.
Written September 13
This past weekend marked the start of tournament play for our 2011-12 campaign.
Located in Canton, NY, the St. Lawrence Invitational traditionally features a strong collection of teams from both the U.S. and Canada. This year proved to be more of the same, as no less than 15 squads competed in the event, including the University of Ottawa and Ontario’s University of Waterloo.
Heading into the weekend, spirits were high among our team. While we did lose graduates Ben Kleiner and David Su, we finished the 2010-11 season strongly and were looking to keep that good play going through the new season. We’ve got a highly competitive coaching staff and squad, and we were all looking for a winning start.
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Round One was a definite struggle for me individually, but a good day overall for the team. Carried by a great opening-round 73 from senior co-captain Scott Dow, we posted a team score of 308, leaving us in fourth place going into Round Two. More importantly, any and all questions about our team’s less experienced competitors were answered; as sophomore Tim Lau fired a strong 76, while freshman Charles Van Cook debuted with a very solid score of 79.
Day Two of the invitational was a bit more difficult for us, as taxing greens and challenging pin placements saw our team score rise by four strokes. Kyle Demshki bounced back well from a difficult finish to his first round, as last year’s top performer regained his form for a final round 76. I also fought back, grinding out a useable 77 despite major difficulties off the tee. Tim and Charles kept up their steady play, contributing again to round out our top four with scores of 80 and 79, respectively.
Ultimately, while seventh place is not at all what we were hoping for going into this first tournament, I feel like I can speak on behalf of the team in saying that there were many positives to take away from the weekend. Firstly, our Round One total of 308 was a good start to the season, and though we were disappointed with it, 620 is a respectable first-tournament two-day total. Moreover, the solid play of my younger teammates gives us all reason to feel confident going forward. Kyle looks set to pick up where he left off last year, while Tim and Charles appear ready to take on the challenges of weekly collegiate tournament play.
Now, with a weekend off before our next tournament, it’s time for us all to refocus, get back to practice, and work hard both on and off the course.
