In the annals of William and Mary athletic competition, few events are as storied as Campus Golf. And at the pantheon of physical excellence stands the annual Flat Hat Sports Campus Golf team, now in its third incarnation.

Last year, I tagged around with the sports staff, chronicling their exploits, but this year I would get to play for the first time.

Today, my name would join the ranks of some of the greatest ever to walk the greens of the Sunken Gardens. Names like Dooley, Pike and Weidman were running through my mind as we walked up to claim our clubs — how could I fill the shoes of those legends?

Matt Poms, Miles Hilder, Sam Sutton, Mike Barnes and I would make up the Flat Hat fivesome. We chose four clubs: two 6-irons, a 9-iron and a putter. The putter was Poms’ choice. It would not be his last mistake of the day.

Kelly Bodie is our caddie, replacing former Flat Hat staffer Summer Finck. Hilder is quick to make clear that while Kelly is our caddie, Summer is our inspiration.

“Put down that Summer Finck is a golden god,” Hilder says.

The fact that he’s said the same line at least two years in a row doesn’t make it any less true, or bizarre.

“Poms do you actually play golf?” I ask as we step up to the first tee.

“Yeah I played in high school,” he says and drives his ball to the back wall.

Someone who may or may not have been me lets out an expletive as I turn around to glare at Poms, but my concentration is broken by Sutton moving his ball up the green like a hockey player, one tap at a time.

The second hole is essentially a straightaway with only a trashcan in the middle of the fairway. Poms nails the trashcan as I make Barnes, our freshman, take notes.

“Don’t make me take notes man, I can barely keep track of myself right now,” Barnes says.

“Hey, I just got a text from Dooley saying ‘do me proud,’” Sutton says.

“Man I’m not feeling great,” Barnes says as he wanders off to find his ball for the second time today.

“See, he would be proud of that.” Sutton and Hilder practically say it at the same time.

“I have seen way too many Tetris teams today,” Kelly Bodie adds as we head to the third tee.

Kelly has started taking notes as I work on chipping my ball over a bike rack. The lesson: as always, Kelly Bodie is awesome.

“This is my fourth year playing campus golf and I think I’ve played this course all four years,” Hilder says as we stand out front of Chandler.

This was the spot last year where Hilder and Weidman staged an impromptu driving contest, with a second floor window serving as the target. This year, he lays up for a three.

Poms goes four, Sutton dribbles Ovechkin-style up the hill for a five. I take a gentleman’s six and Barnes settles for finding his tennis ball.

We approach the tee box at the seventh hole. Sutton shouts excelsior as he drives the ball into the bushes. Hilder and Poms are locked in a tight battle for first place as Barnes and I bring up the rear.

Here is where my note taking — and my memory — gets a little shaky.

I remember taking a seven on the last hole. I remember Hilder and Poms fighting to the wire for the win, even though none of us kept score. I remember that Hilder is ultimately my boss, so I remember Miles winning in a rout.

I remember Barnes finishing in last, as I edge him by a stroke or two.

I remember posing for pictures with the rest of the Flat Hat staff. I remember copy editor Katie Lee wrapped up in toilet paper, although I can’t remember why.

I remember laughter and good times and the continuation of a tradition that originated before I got here and which will hopefully continue long after I’m gone.

Ultimately I realize this article is a little self-indulgent, but I’ll bet many of you have had similar experiences over the years playing Campus Golf. I joked about living up to the example of some of the guys who are no longer here, but it is kind of nice to be a part of that tradition.

So that was it, Campus Golf 2010. The highs, the lows and the Poms. I guess after all that, there’s really only one thing left to say:

Jeff Dooley, I hope we did you proud.

Following the William and Mary’s Jan. 21 home victory over Drexel, senior guard David Schneider vowed not to look at the CAA standings for the rest of the season. But despite the guard’s best intentions, Schneider and his teammates were well aware of the massive implications of Saturday’s regular season finale against North Carolina-Wilmington at Track Coliseum.

At stake, for the second straight game, was a top-four CAA finish and a first-round bye in the conference tournament. In stark contrast to last Wednesday’s loss to lowly Towson this time, the College seized enough early momentum to coast past the Seahawks, 62-51, and clinched the no. 3 seed and their first ever tournament bye in the process.

The victory also marked the third time since 1952 that the College recorded 20 victories in one regular season.

“Its amazing, simply amazing,” Schneider said. “It was definitely a team win, everyone pulled together today after a pretty tough loss. I think everybody came out really prepared and ready to play, and I think that was the biggest difference.”

After failing to lock up the no. 3 seed against Towson on Senior Night in Williamsburg, the College attempted to atone for its recent shortcomings by putting on an impressive first-half shooting performance. Midway through the opening period, the Tribe went on a 14-0 run. Eleven of those points were scored by sophomore guard Quinn McDowell.

In addition to McDowell’s hot hand, Schneider was 3 for 3 from behind the arc in the first half, allowing the Tribe to shoot an impressive 67 percent from downtown. It was a pace that the Seahawks could not overcome.

Once again, McDowell and Schneider provided the bulk of the scoring for the Tribe, as the tandem combined for 38 of the Tribe’s 62 points. Overall, the College shot 40 percent from the floor and 38 percent from three-point range.

“First of all, we got some great shots, and it was really nice to see the ball go in the hole,” Head Coach Tony Shaver said. “We didn’t shoot it that well in the second half, but we play at a whole different level when we make shots.”

Although the Tribe offense cooled significantly in the second half, the College’s defense kept UNC-Wilmington from obtaining any offensive momentum. Schneider and junior forward Marcus Kitts contributed 10 rebounds each, which allowed the College to earn a 41-38 rebounding advantage.

The College also silenced the Seahawks’ leading scorer, Chad Tomko, who was held without a bucket in the second half.

“I thought in the first half, we let Tomko get a few open looks, and in the second half, we did a much better job on him,” Shaver said. “The defense was good, and they haven’t been in the past couple of games, so it was nice to see us take some pride in it tonight.”

The College will look to ride its newfound positive momentum into this weekend’s CAA tournament in Richmond. As the third seed, the squad will avoid two of its main rivals—top seeded Old Dominion and no. 5 Virginia Commonwealth—before Monday’s championship game.

Instead, the College’s path to the championship game will be far less intimidating, as the Tribe will take on the winner of Friday’s matchup between no. 6 Drexel and no. 11 James Madison on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

“Earlier today, I was just going over the playoff scenarios, and everything really played out to our advantage,” Schneider said. “Northeastern had a big win, ODU had a big win. I know especially from two years ago when we went to the CAA championship, just how much you need rest. Now that our journey won’t be four games in a row, I think that will really help us down the stretch. I also think we are in a great seed where the teams we play, we have played well against them or beaten them before, and I think it is crucial to have a lot of confidence going into the tournament. “

For a box score, click here.

A young team has to grow up quickly when its second series of the season comes against the no. 2 team in the nation and under the gaze of thousands of fans.

The Tribe (3-3) tried to do just that but came up short in three games this weekend, losing at Alex Box Stadium to defending national champion Louisiana State 10-9, 9-6 and 7-4.

“I was very happy with the way we played,” Head Coach Frank Leoni said. “Not only to challenge them but to have a lead in all three games, to have a legitimate chance to beat them all three games, I was very happy.”

The weekend began with a rainout Friday night, forcing a schedule change that turned Sunday into a doubleheader.

Sunday, freshman pitcher Matt Wainman fell behind early in the first game, giving up three runs in the first four innings. However, fellow freshman Derek Lowe was able to ignite the bats for the College in the top of the fifth inning with a home run to right center. Slattery capped the inning with a two-RBI single to right, and the Tribe finished the inning with a 4-3 lead.

The Tiger offense answered with four runs of its own in the bottom of the inning. The teams traded a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but the hopes of a comeback expired when Ryan Williams representing, the tying run, lined out to second, ending the game.

Junior infielder Jonathan Slattery, who went 5-for-6 in the first two games of the series, credited his head coach Frank Leoni heavily for his offensive success.

“Coach Leoni has a new hitting approach this year,” he said. “I felt like I was getting good pitches to hit and wasn’t chasing after balls.”

Following an hour-long intermission, the Tribe came out red hot in game two. Freshman centerfielder Ryan Brown led off the contest with a double to center field. Two errors by the Tigers, combined with a trio of singles, gave the Tribe—and starting freshman pitcher Brett Goodloe—an early 3-0 lead.

But the advanatge was short-lived. LSU designated hitter Matt Gaudett evened the score with a two-run blast in the bottom of the third. After Gaudett’s blast, the Tigers produced five more runs en route to a 7-4 victory. Amidst the loss, the College witnessed a strong performance from sophomore pitcher Matt Davenport, who held the Tigers scoreless after relieving starter Brett Goodloe.

The Saturday night match-up established the tone of the series and ensured the College would not be overrun by their talented hosts. The first four innings showcased a scoreless pitching duel between junior Logan Billbrough of the Tribe and Austin Ross of the Tigers.

“Logan did a really nice job keeping hitters off balance,” Leoni said. “He mixed his pitches and made sure they couldn’t center up on the ball.”

With one out in the top of the fourth, sophomore Stephen Arcure jumpstarted the College’s offense with a homerun to right center. Slattery doubled to left, followed by an RBI single from freshman designated hitter Jackson Shaver. Billbrough worked a perfect bottom of the fifth and the Tribe added four more runs in the top of the sixth.

“We were feeling very confident at that point, but not overly so, we just thought we had outplayed them to that point,” Leoni said. “We just went out there and didn’t make our pitches the next inning.”

But in the bottom of the inning, the LSU offense came to life. The Tigers scored eight runs on six hits to tie the game at 8 runs apiece. They eventually overcame the College with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh.

The Tribe threatened a comeback in the top of the eighth. Freshman third baseman Ryan Williams led off with a single and scored on an RBI groundout by Ryan Brown. But the rally came up one run short, as LSU pitcher Matty Ott shut down the squad in the ninth for his third save of the year.

“We looked at it just as another game, you can’t build up the hype too much,” Slattery said. “[It was exciting] to get a chance to play such a good team, to see how we stack up against the competition. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Despite the numbers on the scoreboard or the letter next to the game, the players will not soon forget the experience of playing against a power-house team in front of 6,686 fans.

“I thought the guys did a tremendous job handling the hostile environment,” Leoni said. “They stayed professional, they stayed focused — I thought we kind of ran out of gas there in the last game, but I thought we did a good job staying in the moment, staying poised.”

The Tribe will look to rebound Wednesday with a 4 p.m. game against North Carolina Central at Plumeri Park.