When dealing with a course with a par of 71, there isn’t much room to have a lot of fun in the sand. However, the Yellowjackets didn’t need their beach towels like the rest of the field. They kept their composure this weekend, finishing at the top of the group. In a field of 22 other colleges and universities, the Yellowjackets finished runner-up to Salem State College, by two strokes.
The Yellowjackets turned in their first round scorecard of 290 strokes, keeping them slightly ahead of Salem State College, who carded 293.
However, the team was unable to stave off Salem State, who ousted the Yellowjackets in the final round with their 292 strokes to the team’s 297, beating the Yellowjackets 585 to 587.
Junior Stephen Goodridge nested himself at the top of the leaderboard, carding a 67 in just his first round appearance. As the four under par leader, Goodridge kept his play at cruise control level for the second round. He parred the course with a 71 to preserve his four stroke lead over the rest of the field.
The most notable thing about Goodridge’s performance is being one of only two players that weekend ever to break even par or better.
Freshman Brandon Isobe settled in nicely in just his second stint with the Yellowjacket crew this season. The rookie-freshman busted out in the first round, parring the course with 71 strokes. He followed that up with a 74, putting him at three over par for the weekend. The rookie exited the tournament with a two day total of 145 stokes, which placed him among the weekend’s top ten elite.
“I knew coming in that Brandon was pretty good, but his play so far has been better than expected,” Coach Rich Johnson said. “He is getting comfortable with his teammates who have a lot of respect for his ability. I fully expect Brandon to keep contributing to the team’s success in a major way.”
Senior Joe Derrigo got off to a rocky start in the first round, leaving the course eight up with a 79. However, the veteran senior had his vengeance in the second round with a smooth 74 to put him at 11 strokes over par on the weekend.
Chris Wuest followed up right behind Derrigo, scoring a 76 in the opening round. He followed the next day with a 78 to round out his tournament performance with 154 strokes.
Sophomore Jon Pecor matched Wuest’s first round finish at five over par. Pecor went on to close out his tournament play with 79 to leave him with a total 155 strokes.
The Yellowjackets have come off strong, opening their season with bronze and silver finishes in the two tournaments that they’ve competed. Right now, their greatest goal is to remain competitive in the next three tournaments before the fall season comes to an end, including the Liberty League Championships in Saratoga Springs this weekend.
Serafini can be reached at jserafini@campustimes.org.
