Following the Cornell Invitational, the golf team traveled to Niagara Falls to compete in the Little Three Invitational. The teams present consisted of St. Bonaventure and longtime rivals Canisius and Niagara. Coach Erik Hoops, who is in his first year with the program, was satisfied with the result.
“We were disappointed that we didn’t play as well as we could have,” Hoops said. “However, we realized that what was not necessarily our best game was still okay.”
Through the first half of the competition, the Bonnies held the lead. The morning round ended with St. Bonaventure ahead by one stroke. As the afternoon session progressed, Canisius gradually overcame the Bonnies and finished with the lead, winning by five strokes. Despite the loss, coach Hoops remains optimistic, preferring to focus on the positive aspects of the team’s performance.
“You have to just see the glass half full, and say ‘what are we going to do to make it better?’” Hoops said.
This weekend, the golf team will compete in the Binghamton Invitational. Coach Hoops is confident that his team will perform well.
“We’re just as good as any team that we tee it up with,” he said. “We just need to put it together for three rounds. The guys are confident and ready.”
He is cautious, however, to give any concrete prediction for this weekend’s invitational.
“We just have to go out there, give it all we’ve got, and see where it puts us at the end of the day,” Hoops said.
Looking forward, Hoops cannot help but be pleased with the promise that his team holds. Junior Josh Stauffer has been playing well, and freshman Corey Long has made an impact as a freshman. Stauffer narrowly missed winning the Little Three Invitational, losing by one stroke. Hoops is pleased, though, with his performance so far.
“Josh has the ability to compete with anyone,” he said. “He knows he’s the best player on our team, and he knows what he has to do in order to help us succeed.”
Likewise, Long has impressed the coach, who sees a great deal of promise in the young athlete.
Along with enjoying his team’s success, Hoops says he is adjusting well to St. Bonaventure.
“It’s all been great,” he said. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now.”
Coach Hoops, though new to Bonaventure, is an experienced golfer. He was successful both in the classroom and on the course, earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting and sports management from Loyola-Chicago. As a senior in college, he won the Horizon League Championship. Prior to taking the helm for the Bonnies, Hoops worked as an assistant coach at the University of Toledo.
Hoops has implemented a quality program at Bonaventure, and the future of St. Bonaventure golf appears to be bright.
“We have a great group of guys, and we’re going to do some big things as a team in the next couple years,” Hoops said.
kibbeei14@bonaventure.edu
