Men take fifth at Glenmaura Collegiate Invitational, women grab third at Lady Midshipman Invitational
Caption: Junior Austin Smith finished fifth out of 45 golfers for the men’s team at Glenmaura National Collegiate Invitational. (Photo courtesy of David Sinclair
By Caitlin Shubick, Staff Writer
The Gettysburg men’s golf team got off to a good start at the Glenmaura National Collegiate Invitational this past Sunday, tying for fifth among nine teams. Junior Austin Smith led the team, shooting a 149 to finish in fifth place out of 45 golfers. The women’s golf team participated in the Lady Midshipman Spring Invitational at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course this past Saturday, finishing third, behind Kutztown University and West Chester University.
In the Glenmaura National Collegiate Invitational, the men’s team shot a season-best 306 and then carded a 310 on Monday, finishing with a 36-hole score of 616. The Bullets had a remarkable opening round, with the team’s best 18 holes since the opening round of the 2010 Centennial Conference Tournament when Gettysburg shot a 305. Smith shot a two-over, season-low 73, which is just one shot away from his collegiate career-best, in the first round before wrapping up with a 76. Smith commented on the season, saying, “Obviously everyone’s goal is to win the national championship, but to do that we first need to win conferences. We need to keep improving our games, but nothing is out of our reach.”
In second place for the Bullets was Senior George Whitelaw, who tied for 14th place with a 54. Whitelaw talked about the team’s strengths and focus, saying, “The team has a lot of young talent and is beginning to play well at the right time, right before conferences. We just have to stay consistent and keep working hard.” First-Year Jon Lipshutz tied for 19th with a 155, which is a season-low for him and fellow First-Year Mike Berestecky scored a 161 for Gettysburg, tying for 27th place. First-Year Ben Kaestner participated in the invitational as well and improved by 13 strokes on Monday, finishing with a season-best during the second round. Kaestner shot a 169 and tied for 34th place. The University of Scranton won the team title with a 603.
At the Lady Midshipman Spring Invitational, the women’s team of four finished with a 353, just ten strokes behind Kutztown University and just one stroke behind second place West Chester University, both Division II schools. Gettysburg outcompeted all Division III schools by ten strokes. Sophomore Kara McNulty finished the tournament just one stroke short of her career-best round with an 81. McNulty tied for second with two of Kutztown’s golfers and her team best 83.8 scoring average stands just 0.5 strokes below Gettysburg’s single-season record, which is currently held by Merrill Fortier ’08.
Senior Caroline Nathan placed seventh overall with an 89, continuing her best season to date. Nathan has finished in the top ten in seven of eight events this season, which includes two individual titles. In speaking of the team during this past weekend’s tournament, Nathan said, “The tournament at Navy really showed how great we are. We had to grind it out on some holes, but we came back and we finished first among Conference schools and third overall among tough competition. We have a great team and we had a lot of fun today, so I am really excited to see where we will end up with our last few tournaments of the season, especially Conferences in two weeks. I have had an incredible four years of golf at Gettysburg, but I have never been so proud of the golf team as I am this season.”
Junior Molly Nulty and Senior Shelby Glass also contributed, with Nulty scoring a 91 to place her in a tie for tenth, while Glass outdid her season average by three strokes with a 92, finishing in a tie for 13th place. Nathan commented on the team’s strengths and the season as a whole, saying, “What is so great is the consistency that we have every tournament. We are consistently shooting around 350 as a team, which is fantastic, and in my four years I have never seen our team play so well. I think we do so well because our team has a great bond and we have a great coach that really helps us with everything.”
The men’s golf team will compete in the Messiah Invitational on Tuesday, April 24 at 12 p.m. at the Blue Ridge Country Club, the last event before the Conference Championships begin. The women’s golf team will compete in the Alvernia Invitational on Monday, April 23 at 12 p.m. before their conference play begins on April 28.
