Men's Linksters Go Up and Down

The Harvard men's golf team encountered mixed results during both fall and spring seasons, finishing in first place at the ECAC Northern New England Qualifier in October, but also falling to last place in the annual match against Princeton and Yale in April.

The Crimson golfers began the fall season with an encouraging third-place finish at the Wildcat Invitational behind a seventh place finish by co-captain Jun Choo (71-76-147) and a ninth-place result from junior Luis Sanchez (74-74-148).

Two weeks later, Harvard won the ECAC Northern New England Qualifier, as co-captain Joel Radtke--the Crimson's most consistent golfer--placed first with a 71 at the Hickory Hill Golf Club. Choo tied for fifth, firing a 74 on the afternoon, while sophomore Alex Gonzalez tied for 16th with a 76.

But the Crimson could not carry its momentum over from the Qualifier the "main event"--the ECAC Championships. Radtke again led Harvard, shooting a 157, and Gonzalez posted a 158, but the Crimson placed only eighth in a 17-team field.

Indeed, as the weather became progressively colder and winder, the Crimson began to falter. In the final event before the winter break, Harvard finished 13th out of 47 teams at the New England Intercollegiate Championships, a tournament which saw Harvard's top golfer, Radtke, post a mediocre two-day score of 80-77-157.

Harvard's first event of the spring was equally frustrating; the Crimson lost to both Princeton and Yale and were never really competitive in the match. Although Radtke opened the spring with a third-place finish (76) and Sanchez shot a 78, Harvard's number four and five men struggled.

This scenario was replayed throughout the remainder of the spring season; while Radtke and Sanchez played well, the Crimson's other golfers lacked consistency.

After a 12th-place finish at the Navy Spring Invitational, a result which followed a week in which Harvard was essentially unable to practice because of inclement weather, Harvard headed to the Ivy League Championships hoping to exact some revenge on Princeton and Yale.

Rather than reversing its fortune easily, however, Harvard needed a stellar final round to escape dropping further than third in the Ivies. Radtke took second place with a 228 and Sanchez earned fifth, firing a 232 over three rounds. Both players earned spots on the All Ivy team for their results at the Bethpage Country Club.

In its last tournament of the season, the Crimson posted its best result of the spring, placing third in a 17-team field. Radtke again finished second with a 148 and Choo emerged from a semester-long slump to place fifth in the final match of his career.

Harvard will look to Sanchez, Gonzalez and Ed Boyda to replace Radtke and Choo as the Crimson's top golfers next season.

Harvard Sports Stats 1995-96

Men's Golf

Record: 0-2

Best Finish: First, ECAC Qualifier

Head Coach: Bob Leonard

Captains: Jun Choo '96, Joel Radtke '96

Other Key Players: Luis Sanchez '97, Alex Gonzalez '98, Ed Boyda '97