Not many had high expectations for the golf team as it headed into its inaugural season as a varsity sport. However, after an excellent start to the season, highlighted by a second-place finish in the Empire 8 Invitational last week, Head Coach Dan Wood said his expectations for the team have changed.

“I thought we had a chance to beat Elmira [College] and William Smith [College],” Wood said. “I wasn’t too sure of St. John Fisher [College] — whether they had any good freshmen added to their roster. Turns out our freshmen are a little better than theirs.”

While the Bombers lost by one shot to St. John Fisher on Sept. 13 at the St. Lawrence Invitational, they were able to pull out a win over the Cardinals the following week at the Empire 8 Championships.

Midway through the Bombers’ fall season with two fall tournaments remaining, they have picked up a second-place finish at the Empire 8 Championships and own a 1–0 record in duel matches.

Freshman Jackie Young said the success comes from her teammates’ hard work, as well as the endless hours of teaching from Wood and Assistant Coach Sandy Wood, his wife.

“The great start to this season is a combination of the time spent by both our coach and assistant coach and the dedication of my teammates,” Young said. “Our coaches spend a lot of their time working with us on every aspect of the game, from our short game to just learning the rules.”

Junior Lauren Ryan, who was a part of the golf program last year when it was still a club sport, said the biggest difference from last season to this year is the motivation of everyone to get better as a team, as well as individually.

“It was hard last year with just being a club team,” Ryan said. “You didn’t always get girls that really wanted to be there, so it was hard to have motivation to want to have a better team. All six of us truly want to be out on the course as much as we can, whenever we can. It’s easier for Coach Wood to coach us also when he knows that we all want to become a great golf team.”

Junior Christie O’Shea said she was unsure about how successful the team would be coming into the season but is optimistic about the its future.

“I have higher expectations for our team now because I have seen how we all play,” O’Shea said. “We have the potential to shoot lower than most of us have been scoring. I hope we get the chance to show other schools what we are capable of shooting before the season is over.”

Looking forward to the remainder of the season, Wood said he would like to see how his players fare against superior opponents during match play.

“Our women need to play with better players as much as possible,” Wood said. “They can learn more from that than playing with girls who are the same, or maybe even slightly inferior to us.”

Though the Blue and Gold hit a minor roadblock this weekend at the William Smith Invitational at Clifton Springs — finishing fourth among five teams — this weekend presents another opportunity for improvement when the team travels to Cortland, N.Y., for the Martin/Wallace Invitational.

Box Score - William Smith Fall Classic - Two Day Total

ITHACA SCORES

1. Brooke Llobell 95-46 - 141
2. Christie O'Shea 99-51 - 150
3. Samantha Liberty 101-53 - 154
4. Jackie Young 107-53 - 160
5. Lauren Ryan 107-55 - 162

TEAM SCORES

1. Nazareth - 549
2. William Smith - 599
3. St. John Fisher - 603
4. ITHACA - 605
5. Elmira - 633