The men’s golf team started off on the right foot in their first tourney of the new year and the women’s team carried its consistency over from the first half of the season.
The spring was off to a soaring start for the men’s golf team as they participated in The Shootout of Aguila in Arizona. The two round tournament took place March 5th and 6th, with the Flyers coming home in first place overall. The team shot a final score of 579, which bested Drury for first place by seven points in the seven team field.
Two flyers finished in the top 5 for the tourney. They were led by junior Casey Pyne, who took first overall in the tourney with a final two round score of 139. Right behind Pyne was sophomore Nick Quagliano, who finished second overall as an individual with a final score of 141.
“Casey continues to shine,” head coach Skip Steffey said. “He led the team to another victory with his stellar play due to his preparation and work ethic. Nick stepped up to fulfill the promise he has always had with a great performance to help the team seal the win.”
Senior Paul Dagys and junior John Whiting were third and fourth on the team with scores of 148 and 149 collectively. All the effort of the team went into a first place finish to start off the spring season, which is not always easy with the long winter layoff and the inability to get out there and play every once in awhile. Coach Steffey was very pleased with the first tournament of the season for the guys, “It’s a great way to start the season for both the team and finishing two individuals in the top five.”
The men’s golf team next competed in the Grub Mart- Young Oil Intercollegiate in Jacksonville, Ala. The two round tournament took place March 22nd and 23rd. After brutal conditions in the first round of play, each Flyer improved on their score in the second round. The Flyer’s as a team, took 10th overall with a team score of 642.
They were led by Dagys, who shot a team best 73 on the second day of the tournament to go along with his 83 on day one. He finished with a 156 stroke total and tied for 26th overall. He was followed by junior Logan Watts, who finished second on the team and tied for 34th overall with his final score of 161. Quagliano rounded out the Flyers top three with a score of 162 and tied for 39th overall.
“They responded like we thought they would and played much better. The course was still pretty wet and played long, but we had a much better performance,” said coach Steffey
Next the Flyers will be on their way to Kentucky on April 2nd to compete in The Jewell at Cherry Blossom Golf Course.
The women’s golf team also competed in the Golf Shootout at Aguila March 5th through the 7th. The Lady Flyers finished in 4th place in the tourney, with a collective score of 671. Freshman Nicole Tucker, had her best finish of the year. She shot a 159, which was good enough to finish 9th overall as an individual. Freshmen Liz Zimmer worked for a final score of 169 that led her to a tie for 18th place overall. Two Lewis seniors were next on the team, as Allison Snyder and Carly Keeler each shot a 172 to tie for 23rd overall.
“It was a good start for the spring season,” coach Steffey said. “It was just nice for the ladies to be on grass for a change. Nicole played well and made it into the top 10 and the team finished a solid fourth behind three teams ranked in the top 30. I look forward to a solid spring and a chance for us to get into the top 4-to-5 at conference.”
The Lady Flyers next hit the links on April 9th in the St. Francis Spring invitational in Joliet, Ill.
Kevin Meyer, Staff Reporter
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