By Harrison Leone
Assistant Sports Editor
The clubs of the SBU golf team will be quiet for more than two weeks until March 24 when the Bonnies compete in the La Salle Invitational. The Invitational will be a two-day event held at the Talamore Country Club in the Philadelphia suburb of Ambler.
Coach John Powers said he hopes to get his team some outside practice time after spending the winter indoors.
“It’s really apples and oranges when you compare indoor to outdoor practices,” Powers said. “There’s no doubt, you would much rather be outside. Other than that, our goal right now is to get back into our mid-season form.”
The team’s hiatus comes after its latest match, an exhibition meet held against Brevard Community College in Rocklidge, Fla. on Feb. 28. The team shot a combined total of 296.
“Winning and losing wasn’t really the focus of this match,” Powers said. “It was more about getting our players on the course and getting some experience.”
The Brevard match was the second time in three weeks that St. Bonaventure made the journey to the Sunshine State. Previously, SBU opened its spring season at the Bethune-Cookman Invitational in Ormond Beach, Fla. on Feb. 17.
Powers said he welcomed the opportunity to get his players acclimated to the rigors of traveling.
“We definitely enjoyed heading down there, but physically it wears on you,” Powers said. “That’s part of the sport that you have to get adjusted and adapt to, though. The Atlantic 10 Championships are in Florida, so eventually it’s going to be something you have to contest with.”
Despite Brevard being a junior college, Powers said that he did not feel there was a significant drop off in the level of competition.
“They’re one of the top junior college programs in the country,” Powers said. “Being a southern team that has the ability to play year-round, they’re probably as good as some Division I universities in the northeast.”
The Bonnies showed strong performances from both the young and the experienced of their squad, as freshman Josh Stauffer and senior Brian McKenna tied with a score of 73. Redshirt freshman Darren Simons came in one stroke off the lead at 74 and junior Chris Mackey rounded out the top four, shooting a 76.
“I thought the team played pretty well overall,” Powers said. “In terms of progress, we definitely showed some from the week before.”
Powers said that a match such as this would mostly be used to configure the starting five golfers for the remainder of the season. He also added that the lineup is always subject to change and will remain in flux for most of the spring.
“The four guys put together good rounds, it’s always encouraging to see guys on the bubble tally some of your best scores,” Powers said. “Golf is a continuous cycle; it’s a process. We’ll probably see a few different lineups as the season goes on.”
In January, the Bonnies were predicted to finish ninth out of the 13 Atlantic 10 teams.
Powers said that prognostications in a sport such as golf are always difficult to make.
“At this point, it’s hard to say where we stack up in relation to the other teams,” Powers said. “There’s a lot of teams that are at similar spots, and with an increased field, it’s not easy to tell.”
Powers added that the season boils down to which teams perform well at the A-10 finals.
“The nature of golf puts a lot of emphasis on being able to perform at specific events,” Powers said. “It’s all about if you show up and compete well.”
