Ephs rout competition in Tour de Golf final

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — The men’s golf team rebounded from last weekend’s substandard performance at the Duke Nelson Invitational with an outstanding showing at the Taconic Golf Club in the final stage of the Tour de Golf this Friday. The results of stage one from the previous weekend had the Ephs ahead of Middlebury by a slim 2-point margin, but an impressive team effort caused their lead to inflate to an 18 ½-point advantage at the end of the day.

The Ephs finished with a total of 58 ½ points, followed distantly by Middlebury’s 40-point score and Babson College’s 27 ½ posting. Although the deficit was too great for Babson to make a run for the win, they did manage to outshoot Middlebury in stage two (18 ½ - 14).

First year, Chris Valle collected the most points by winning all six available matches, while Dave Ramsey '09 collected 5 1/2 points. Neither player made the trip to Middlebury last week but showed the depth that Williams has always been noted for. Senior co-captain, Tyler Zara, who also did not make the Middlebury portion of the competition, scored 4 1/2 points through his matches. Matt Felser '09 and Drew Murray '11 both put on fine performances and each scored 5 points for the team.

“We seemed very comfortable today and I think it showed in how well we did as a team,” noted Zara. “I feel good about our chances this weekend [in the Williams Invitational].”

“I am much happier with our level of play than I was last weekend,” added head coach Rick Pohle. “The team seems poised for a good showing at this weekend’s Williams Invitational and we’re looking to solidify the roster for next weekend’s NESCAC Tournament and Qualifier to the Spring NESCAC Championship.”

The Ephs will begin play at the aforementioned tournament at 1:30 this afternoon at the Taconic course. It will be a two-day affair with several rival teams competing for the top score, and should prove as a solid gauge for just how “poised” this team is for the NESCAC Tournament next weekend.

Tour de Golf - Stage 2 results

Singles matches - 3 points per match (front/back/total)

BABSON COLLEGE

1. Fernando Pineres - 6
2. Matt Foley - 3
3. Bryan Eger - 2 1/2
4. Matt Doherty - 3
5. Kyle Klempner - 4
6. Zach Silver - 0
7. Seth Stolbun - 0

TEAM - 18 1/2
Stage 1 - 9
TOTAL - 27 1/2

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE

1. Harry Bane - 1 1/2
2. Mike McCormick - 1
3. Jim Levins - 2
4. Kyle Perez - 1
5. Brian Cady - 2
6. Jesse Keenan - 3
7. Ben Kunofsky - 3 1/2

TEAM - 14
Stage 1 - 26
TOTAL - 40

WILLIAMS COLLEGE

1. Jack Killea - 1 1/2
2. Drew Murray - 5
3. Tyler Zara - 4 1/2
4. Matt Felser - 5
5. Bob Camp - 3
6. Chris Valle - 6
7. Dave Ramsey - 5 1/2

TEAM - 30 1/2
Stage - 1 28
TOTAL - 58 1/2