Gianniny helps team to best A10 finish in Swanson’s career
As the sun began to set last Sunday night, it also set on another spring season for the St. Bonaventure men’s golf team. The men finished up their 2019 spring golf season at Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando, Florida at the 2019 Atlantic 10 Conference Golf Championships.
For the third consecutive year, the tournament was held in Orlando, Florida at the Villas of Grand Cypress Golf Club. For the upperclassman on the team, the type of grass and feel of the course came as nothing new.
“This is my second time playing there, and the grass is a lot different than all the places we have played during the year,” said sophomore Danny Gianniny. “It is Bermuda grass, so it is a lot more sticky and is a little bit thicker, so it is a little bit of an adjustment going to Florida.”
The weather was relatively kind to the players through the three rounds despite some mild wind during round one.
“it was nothing we haven’t seen before,” Gianniny said. “It all took just takes a little bit of adjusting when you first get down there.”
With some strong play from all grade levels, the Bonnies were able to be in the hunt for an Atlantic 10 title all the way through the three rounds on Friday, Saturday and into Sunday.
“We finished seventh, but we were right there through the last day,” said Gianniny.
Gianniny was a key contributor in the Bonnies seventh place finish, the highest finish for the Bonnies since 2010. Gianniny spent the weekend near the top of the leaderboard, with a round two score 68 that put him in sixth place heading into the final round. He stumbled a bit on the final day and ultimately finished tied at No. 10, the Bonnies first top 10 finish since Josh Stauffer in 2014.
“Individually I was pretty happy. Top 10 is always solid,” said Gianniny. “Obviously the goal is to win, but I was pretty happy.”
Following Gianniny in the standings were Brent Morgan, who finished in No. 21, Matt Abendroth No. 25, Zach Chaddock in No. 29 and Christian Chapman rounding out the Bonnies five finishing at No. 33.
For Morgan, this would be his final tournament as a Bonnie. He capped off his Bonnies career with his best finish at the Atlantic 10 championships that he has had during his four years of competing. Morgan has been an essential member of the Bonnies over his years, helping greatly in rebuilding the program back to prominence.
“Brent Morgan contributed pretty much all the time,” said Gianniny. “Brent is a really good player and had a really great year, so that will be a serious loss for the team.”
Bonnies coach Ryan Swanson coached in his third Atlantic 10 championship this past weekend. The seventh place finish is the best finish at the Atlantic 10 championships Swanson has had as head coach.
For the Bonnies, the future is bright. The team did not quite get the production out of its freshman that they hoped for, but the team has not lost faith and believes there is more to come from the class of 2022.
“The freshman are some really good guys,” said Gianniny. “It just didn’t click for them right away this spring, but I know they are really good and will step up next year.”
The Bonnies of 2019 were in the hunt for an Atlantic 10 title late into Sunday for the first time in over a decade. With a majority of their team returning the comfort level is high and thus the expectation levels are higher.
“Next year is nothing we haven’t seen,” said Gianniny. “The goal for us is always to win an A-10 title, and going forward I believe we have a really good chance.”
By John Pullano, Opinion Editor
pullanjj18@bonaventure.edu
