Good News, Bad News For Golfers at Toski

The Harvard golf team had some good news in the Toski Intercollegiate Tournament last weekend: it beat 12 competitors.

Of course, good news rarely comes alone. Another 12 teams finished ahead of the Crimson.

But while Harvard's good and bad news may appear to balance out, the Crimson did improve on its 17th-place finish last season. And the school everyone loves to hate in New Haven, the overwhelming Ivy League favorite, finished only 15 strokes in front of the Crimson.

"After the first day we were 12th, with a chance to break into the top 10 on the second day," explained senior Mike Foster. "We just did not take advantage of our opportunities."

With their ailing captain, Ross Cockrell, struggling not to leave deposits in the sand traps, Harvard's other four players were on their own. Junior Robert Kincaid led the team, shooting 76-80--156 for the two-round, two-day tournament at the par-72 Hickory Ridge Country Club in Amherst.

Overall, the team's four-man scoring sum was a 643, totalling the rounds of Kinkaid, Foster, Dave Miller and freshman Lou Body. Overall winner Central Connecticut State carded a 594.

"These teams are paid to play golf," Body said, referring to the golf scholarships awarded at both CCSU and the University of Hartford, the runner-up by one stroke.

Finding the middle of the pack-despite Cockerell's stomach virus and the self-described "average" play of Foster and Body--is a promising beginning to the Crimson's season. However, Cockrell said, "We need to score to our potential" if Harvard expects to move up the leaderboard in future tournaments.

NOTEBOOK: Harvard will travel to Hanover, N.H., Thursday for the ECAC regional qualifier.