After coming together as a team a couple of weeks ago and welcoming several new players, the Skidmore golf team is looking to build a strong start to the fall season.
In their first tournament of the season at Lake Placid last weekend, the Skidmore boys played well but unfortunately came up short, finishing second in the tournament. The highlight was an incredible performance by captain Mackenzie Nelson, ’17. He was honored as the Liberty League Golf Performer of the Week for his second place finish, shooting rounds of one over par 73 in the first round and two over par 74 in the second round.
This weekend, however, the boys were able to improve upon their second place finish last week to win the Duke Nelson Invitational in Middlebury, Vermont. Once again, Nelson, who won the individual title, led the Thoroughbreds in this victory.
Boosted by their win this weekend, the entire team seems confident about their current position and what the future holds. Says Teddy Badenhausen, ‘17, “Everything seems to be falling into place for the program as a whole. The team’s depth and consistency is the best I’ve seen in my time here. The rest of the season looks very promising and is very exciting for us. Our goal is to be the best team in the northeast this year. If everything goes as planned, that goal can easily be achieved.”
With such a deep and talented roster this year, the golf team is even more close-knit than usual as a result of every player competing against each other in qualifying rounds on a weekly basis to decide who travels to tournaments. Yet even though they battle during the week to be one of the five people to travel for tournaments, no one loses sight of the fact that the number one goal is always for everyone to play well and, as Coach Oppedisano stresses, to have fun. Reflecting on the season so far, Nelson added, “We had a good start to our season in Lake Placid and we are excited for the rest of the fall season. The team is in a very competitive place and we should have chances to win a lot of tournaments this fall.”
After this weekend’s tournament win at Middlebury, the team will look to carry its momentum into Baldwinsville, NY for the Liberty League Fall Tournament on September 24th and 25th.