by Scott Harvey
Staff Writer
Following a well played round by the University of La Verne golf team in the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen Invitational, the Leopards traveled to Annandale Country Club to face Occidental Monday but came up 10 strokes short in a 315-325 loss.
The resurfacing of many of Annandale’s greens slowed play for the competitors Monday, and head coach Rex Huigens was reluctant to let his team compete in the bad conditions.
“I felt like I cost the team the match. We shouldn’t have played in bad course conditions. I shouldn’t have let us play,” said Huigens.
Although the green conditions often stopped the flow of play, Adam Day was the leader for Occidental and started off Monday’s round by driving well and shooting an impressive 37 on the front nine at Annandale. Day was edged out by one stroke on the first nine holes, as sophomore Paul Gomez put in an impressive 36 strokes before the turn.
Occidental’s Scott Hannah and Eric Jaffe also stayed with the pack on the front nine, each shooting a 38, but La Verne struggled to find its rhythm through the other five players.
Senior Steve Lenett was the closest to the pack for La Verne, as he hung tough, often having to come up with big shots on his way to a 40 on the front nine. Junior Steve Lewis was third for the Leopards after nine holes with 41 strokes, and junior James Torpey was fourth for La Verne with a 42.
“The course conditions brought everyone together in the same category, not allowing our guys to stand out, and I feel that gave Occidental an advantage,” said Huigens.
The back nine holes were controlled by Occidental, as ULV never seemed to rise to the same playing level as the Tigers.
Day continued to play well and followed his 37 on the front nine with a solid 43 on the back nine for a total of 80 strokes on the day. Hannah also played well for Occidental and put in a total of 80.
Although Hannah and Day played well, they were outplayed on the last nine holes by their teammate Jaffe, who followed his 38 on the front nine with a 37 on the back nine for a total of 75, the day’s best score.
Gomez also played well on the last nine holes and, with consistency, finished with a 77. Lewis played solid for the Leopards, shooting a 39 on the back nine to finish at 80 strokes, followed by sophomore Scott Garrison’s and Lenett’s 84 strokes.
Although La Verne stayed consistent, it could not edge out the Tigers on Occidental’s home course and fell to 3-2 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and 4-5 overall.
“It was a bad loss for us considering our league record was damaged and the fact that we are a better team than Oxy,” said Huigens.
The Occidental loss is not the only thing concerning the Leopards, as freshman Don Martin, a standout in the No. 3 spot on the team, became ill last week and is possibly lost for the rest of the season.
“Don Martin is a good golfer and has been solid for us this year. Hopefully he can make it back before the end of the season, but his loss will definitely hurt our team,” said Huigens.
La Verne golf will start competition in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Championships on Monday, April 13 at Hacienda Country Club in Whittier.
