__Men finish ninth at Southern Pines; women finish seventh at Chip-N Invitational__
Golfers from both the men’s and women’s teams broke school records Monday and Tuesday as their respective teams finished ninth of 13 and seventh of 19 against very competitive fields. In their first campaign this season, junior Brent Paladino finished at six under par for fifth place and sophomore Morgan Stepanek took a share of second place at seven over par.
p. The men’s squad traveled to the North Carolina Sandhills for three rounds of golf Sept. 10 and 11 at the Mid-Pines Invitational. Paladino, coming off a tremendous summer which included a win at the New England Amateur, shot rounds of 69-67-74, good for a six-under-par total of 210 at the historic Mid Pines Golf Club. The strong showing not only vaulted the Tribe to ninth place, but set several school records in the process. Paladino’s six-under-par total broke the previous 54-hole school record by three shots, and his eight-under score of 136 after the first two rounds was the lowest 36-hole score in school history.
p. “It was the best I’ve hit the ball in quite a while. I was a little inconsistent with my ball striking last spring, so it was exciting when it came together like that,” Paladino said.
p. Fellow Tribe golfers Doug Hurson, Jonas Miller, Conor O’Brien and Jimmy Femino finished in T-25th, T-52nd, T-61st and T-68th, respectively. An impressive East Carolina University squad took the title this week, finishing at 22-under-par.
p. The women’s team had one of their best tournaments in a decade at the Chip-N Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., finishing in seventh place with a 930 stroke total. The team’s success can largely be attributed to Stepanek’s seven over par total. She carded a 75-74 before closing with an even par 71 at the Woodland Hills Golf Club, good for a share of second place.
p. On her notable final round, she explained, “I knew shooting 75-74 I had to keep fighting in the last round and not let any bad holes bring me down.” She managed the course well all week and did not card a single double bogey. The 220 total broke the 54-hole school record set by All-American Mary Wilkinson ’82. Her final-round 71 puts her in a tie for third best all-time at the College.
p. Freshmen Katie Murphy and Sarah Whitney, along with senior Erika Oldenkamp and sophomore Brielle Paolini, contributed to the Tribe’s strong showing, finishing T-34th, T-41st, T-41st and T-67th, respectively.
