Golf Struggles In Opening Tournament

The golf team struggled in its first tournament of the year, The Dartmouth Invitational, in Hanover, NH. Harvard finished tenth in the sixteen-team field, well behind champion Rhode Island and most of its Ivy League rivals.

Harvard was marred by inconsistent play and was not a serious contender after the first day of the two-day tournament.

"Our performance the first day was disappointing," sophomore Matt Dost said.

The Crimson followed the first day with a strong second day, highlighted by the performance of junior Kaj Zazales. Zazales posted an impressive 71 on the second day and led the Crimson in the tournament with a 144. The other bright spot for the Crimson was the play of its new members, freshman Andrew Malcom and sophomore transfer Rob Erickson.

Both golfers had impressive tournaments and have encouraging prospects for the season.

"Things should only continue to get better this year as we get more experience on these golf courses," said Malcom.

Harvard hopes that the play from its new players will allow the team to compete this weekend at the prestigious Toski Tournament at Amherst. The team finished fourth last year and feels that it can improve upon its performance this year because of its experience.

"We have several players who have played strongly on this course before and should only improve with their experience," said Zazales.

However, if the team is going to contend this year, they are going to need consistent play from everyone.

"We are not going to compete unless everyone has a great game," said Malcom.

The team feels that they are ready for a breakout performance because of their enormous talent.

"If we jell together we can compete with any team," said Zazles.