Men's Golf Team Garners Fifth

The Harvard men's golf team surprised themselves this weekend, posting a fifth place finish at the Dartmouth Invitational.

The Crimson, buoyed by senior co-captains Andy Rourke and Alex Gonzalez and a pair of freshman, shot a two-day total of 304-296, finishing only one stroke behind host Dartmouth and two shots out of third.

"The first day, no one on the team was really satisfied," Rourke said. "The second day, everyone on the team played better. None of us had ever played the course before. The second day we had a little more confidence."

Harvard found itself in seventh place after the first day of competition, despite a stellar three-over par round by freshman Matt Dost. Dost finished in eight place overall, firing a two-day total of 147 on the par 69-course.

Rourke (77-74), Gonzalez (76-73) and freshman Kaj Vazales (81-74) each improved on their first day scores, despite noticeably colder and winder conditions.

"We were hoping to do well," Rourke said. "We were satisfied with the second day."

Despite its improvement, Harvard was outclassed by perennial Ivy League power Yale and Hartford, both of whom have traditionally over-matched the Crimson.

Nevertheless, the team's performance has even the seniors thinking about winning tournaments.

"Our attitude has kind of changed," Rourke said. "We can shoot better scores than we anticipated being able to do. It gives us confidence going into this weekend that we can play with anybody."