by Scott Harvey
Staff Writer
The University of La Verne golf team is once again off to a great start in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play after defeating Caltech last Friday and Chapman on Wednesday at Sierra La Verne Country Club.
The Leopards posted a variety of scores, but never broke 80 on their way to an easy 27 stroke win over the Beavers, 312-339.
The leader for La Verne on Friday was junior transfer Steve Lewis, who finished with an impressive 74 stokes, after shooting a 36 on the first nine holes and 38 on the back nine.
Juniors Jim Brooks and James Torpey also finished the day strongly, both scoring 39 on the front nine and 40 on the back nine on their way to 79s.
Sophomores Scott Garrison and team leader Paul Gomez brought up the rear for the Leopards and both shot 80.
Caltech struggled to find its game early as they had three players shoot above 90. Caltech’s Nathan Heich helped La Verne in a big way, shooting a dismal 63 on the back nine and 116 total to add strokes to the visitors’ total.
La Verne faced Chapman under clear skies on Wednesday and once again put a solid win on the board, 303-331.
Gomez was convincing in the win, putting together a 37 on the front and a 35 on the back nine to finish with the day’s lowest score of 72. Lewis also finished strong with a 72.
“Steve and Paul are playing really well and are an example for our younger guys,” said head coach Rex Huigens.
Freshman Don Martin also contributed to the Leopards win, finishing with a total of 80 strokes.
La Verne, with the Caltech and Chapman wins, will move to 3-2 overall and look to follow up on last year’s stellar performance at the Southern California Intercollegiate Golf Championships.
“Mentally, these matches have prepared us for Torrey Pines. We are in a positive frame of mind and should be pretty competitive,” said Huigens.
