Bobcats Finish 13th at Rain-Shortened New England Championships

Bobcats Finish 13th at Rain-Shortened New England Championships
By Jeremy Schilling

The Quinnipiac University Bobcats continued their spring 2007 season with a tie for 13^th at the rain-shortened New England Championships April 14-15 in Providence, Rhode Island. Due to the weekend nor’easter, play on the 15^th was rained out. In the team portion of the event, the Bobcats shot a 321, tying with Dartmouth. Sacred Heart University won that portion of the event with a score of 296. Due to the rainout of the second day, two players tied for the individual title. Army’s Pat Beverly and Brown’s Larry Haertel both finished with 71.

Individually for the Bobcats, Ben Cook played the best and finished with a 76. He was followed by Steve Velardi with 77, Kyle Chumas with 82, and Eric Snow and Ian O’Connor, who both had 88.

Head Coach John O’Connor said the performance was “somewhat disappointing but [did] show some signs that the team is beginning to grind out some good holes.”

The Bobcats continue their season with the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational April 20-21 at the Quail Valley Golf Club in
Littleston, PA.

Revisiting a Golf Course that Has Pained – Quinnipiac Plays in the Monmouth University Invitational

Revisiting a Golf Course that Has Pained – Quinnipiac Plays in the Monmouth University Invitational
by Jeremy Schilling

It is not often that you get to go home from college, and still be able to watch one of your teams. So it was pure coincidence that while I was home on April 1^st, Quinnipiac was competing in the Monmouth University Hawk Invitational at the Eagle Ridge Golf Club. It’s also super rare that I happened to know the golf course they were playing. But having played it four times, struggling in all four rounds, I was very excited at the prospect of being able to watch college golfers on a course I knew so well.

The conditions were rough – cold, dank, windy, with sprinkles of rain here and there. In just minutes you could tell these were not the best conditions for scoring nor comfort for the gallery members. Yet as a result, I saw some great play – players using spin to stop shots out of the rough or on upslopes, as well as hitting long tee shots, and making great putt. But there was some bad play – balls barely made contact with on heavy slopes and putts from short range missed.

But what stood out to my dad and me was the players’ swings. These players did not have the most technically sound swings – there were obvious swing faults to even somewhat trained eyes – but they stuck with them, and with remarkable consistency. They hit many shots right on line, leaving themselves excellent birdie chances. It was very evident they have grooved these sometimes flawed swings over years and years of preparation, practice, and performance to make them their OWN swings, and ones they can rely on under pressure.

Besides the performance of the players, the other thing that stood out to my dad and me on that day was how many gallery members showed up. Some were Monmouth fans who didn’t have much of a trip to make, but there were a couple of Sacred Heart fans and others from other teams who made the trip, braving the cold. It truly shows that even though the tournaments may be a long distance away, fans will always follow their children and their teams, demonstrating the devotion we expect of true sports fans.

Bobcats Continue Spring Season with 10th Place Finish at Yale

Bobcats Continue Spring Season with 10^th Place Finish at Yale
By Jeremy Schilling

The Quinnipiac Bobcats golf team continued their spring season with a 10^th place finish at the Yale Spring Opener at the Yale Golf Club April 7-8. They had a two-day team score of 631. The University of Hartford won the team portion of the Spring Opener with a score of 597.

Individually for the Bobcats, they were led by Ben Cook who had a two-round total of 154. He was followed by Steve Velardi and Eric Snow who both had 158, Ian O’Connor with 162, and Kyle Chumas with 168. Jason Parajeckas of UCONN won the individual tournament with a score of 142.

In addition, four Bobcats were playing in a separate individual portion of the tournament that had no effect on the team score. In that event, Brady Giroux led the Bobcats with a 167, followed by Chris Connell with 174, Andy Feehan with 181 and Jason Loranger with 185.

Looking back and towards the future, Coach John O’Connor said, “This past weekend I was very pleased with the freshmen Ben Cook’s 74 and Eric Snow’s 75 and I’m confident that all the kids are improving and we’ll continue to see improvement this week in Providence. I had hoped to move up a couple of more positions but Sunday’s weather proved to be too much of a hindrance and prevented the kids from staying focused while competing in windy, damp and extreme cold. This Saturday’s and Sunday’s New England Championship will no doubt bring out the best in my kids and I look forward to low scores.”

As Coach said, The New England Championships is this coming Saturday and Sunday, April 14-15, at the Triggs Golf Club in Providence, Rhode Island

Bobcats Begin Spring Season at Monmouth Invitational

Bobcats Begin Spring Season at Monmouth Invitational
By Jeremy Schilling

The Quinnipiac Bobcats golf team began their 2007 spring season with an 8th place finish at the two-day Monmouth University Hawk Invitational at the Eagle Ridge Golf Club in Lakewood, NJ April 1-2. Their two-day team score of 647 left them tied for 8th with St. Peter’s College. Sacred Heart won the team competition with a two-round score of 576. For the overall individual event, Sacred Heart’s Adam Petrasovic had a two day total of 138 to claim the title.

Individually for Quinnipiac, Steve Velardi was the best, with a 36-hole total of 155. He was followed by Ian O’Connor with 159, Eric Snow with 160, Ben Cook with 174, and Kyle Chumas with 175.

Looking ahead, Coach John O’Connor called last week “a disappointing tournament for the kids but I feel like we’re on the right track.” That track continues this Saturday and Sunday (April 7- with the Yale Spring Opener at the Yale Golf Club.

Golf Season Review

Golf Sports Beat #8

By Jeremy Schilling  

               The Quinnipiac University Golf Team had a successful and impressive fall season, and is very excited for the upcoming spring season. Using strong second-day scores to improve their cause, the team had five top-ten finishes, including a tie for first place at the season-ending Bobcat Invitational.

                 Individually, Steve Velardi and Kyle Chumas were stalwarts for the Bobcats. Steve had the top score for the Bobcats four times, while Kyle had that honor three times. Looking back on the season, Ian O’Connor, who was very consistent for the Bobcats, said, “We’re a pretty young team and we tended to do a lot better the second day fighting back. Hopefully we’ll do better in the spring. We’ve got the talent; we just can’t put two solid days together. But all in all, it was a good fall.” 

                It was a very successful fall campaign for first year head coach John O’Connor. Reflecting on the season and looking ahead, Coach O’Connor said, “The golf team worked extremely hard and stands to be the favorite to place first in the NEC Championship tournament in May 2007.  Steve Velardi continues to be the team leader and low scorer and is expected to be the medalist in the conference event. The freshman team of Eric Snow, Brady Giroux and Ben Cooke all contributed this fall and will likely be part of the spring events and possibly be part of the team that travels to Myrtle Beach this year. I have great expectations for the spring season and will continue in the weight room getting ready for our competitions.”

                 The spring season convenes with the Yale Spring Opener at the Yale Golf Club in New Haven on April 1-2, 2007.