Harvard Finishes Fourth in Ivy Test

Dealing with damp spots from the previous day’s precipitation along with strong gusts, the Harvard men’s golf team managed to defeat both Dartmouth and host Yale and propel itself to a fourth-place overall finish at the Yale Spring Opener in New Haven, Conn.

“It was really a battle of the conditions,” Crimson sophomore Max Campion said. “It was quite cold, extremely windy, and playing a course that really was not in summer conditions, but we fared well against other schools in the battle.”

The Crimson scored 303 and 306 in the first and second rounds, respectively.

Shooting a 49-over total overall, Harvard came in fourth out of 10 teams in competition by the end of Saturday.

The University of Rhode Island came in first with a 37-over 597, shooting 296 in the first and 301 in the second.

Crimson junior Mark Pollak led the way for Harvard, shooting 71 and 75 to tie for the individual title with an overall score of six over par.

Rams freshman Andrew Fiorenzano and Holy Cross sophomore Steve Zychowski also shared a piece of the crown.

“It was kind of a surprise,” Pollak said. “I’ve been playing really poorly for a while, leading up to the tournament. Something just clicked on the range in the morning before we went out, and I just took that confidence with me.”

Campion chipped in with the Crimson’s second-best score, turning in a 12-over-par 152 to finish in a tie with Rhode Island senior Billy McDonald for 17th place.

Ending up in a four-way tie for 26th place, freshman Theodore Lederhausen was three strokes behind Campion with a 152.

Freshman Kevin McCarthy and junior Connor Wentzell shot 159 and 160 to wind up in a tie for 38th and 42nd, respectively.

And rookie Michael Lai rounded out Harvard’s competitors with a 32-over-par 172 to finish in 64th.

Despite posting higher scores than Rhode Island, Sacred Heart (601), and Temple (607), Harvard was able to come out on top of the Big Green and the Bulldogs, which placed fifth and seventh, respectively.

With the Ivy League Championships looming at the end of the spring season, the most recent results gave the Crimson more confidence going forward.

“We’re just trying to build our confidence,” Pollack said. “Especially the two teams we beat were Ivy League rivals, it’s just something to build on and continue to work for the rest of the season.”

“We know that we’ve got a great shot this year at the Ivies,” Campion added. “And beating them this week was huge. We’re just looking to bring our confidence to the upcoming tournaments.”

Since the dual match between Harvard and Columbia two weeks ago was canceled, the Opener was the Crimson’s first opportunity this spring for players to showcase their talents and efforts that they put in during the offseason.

“We were working in the bubble across the river in addition to the new golf center we’ve been using,” Campion said, “so over the winter we spent quite a bit more time practicing.”

“It was just really good to see a lot of work I put in the offseason pay off,” Pollack added.

The tournament was also a chance for Harvard to get back to a competition-ready mentality.

“We really consider the Yale Spring Opener as the practice tournament to get us prepared for the rest of the season,” Pollack said. “There’s still a lot of variability in turf condition and weather, so we look at this tournament to get ourselves ready for the rest of the season.”

“I thought that it was a fine start to the season,” Campion added. “We accomplished our goal of getting ready for the Ivies. Obviously we would’ve really liked to win, and it seemed like a field we could’ve beaten. But it was a decent start.”

As the weather continues to improve and courses get into better shape, the Crimson will look to best its Ivy competition again next week at the Princeton Invitational.