The Waynesburg University men’s golf team traveled to Grove City Thursday to compete in the Grove City Invitational and finished in 12th place out of 16 teams.

 

Despite the low finish, there were plenty of positive takeaways from the tournament.

 

“The team was 28 strokes better at this course from the last time we played it,”  head coach Mike Cipoletti said. “They didn’t play good, but they didn’t play bad.”

 

The night before the tournament, heavy rains let loose over the course, making the conditions less than ideal for the golfers, senior captain Alex Orlandini said.

 

“The course was wet, which made putting tough. Some greens had dried up, but others were still wet, so that was difficult,” Orlandini said.

 

For Cipoletti, the wet greens were tough to putt on because they were inconsistent from hole to hole, but the team turned in some strong performances, led by Luke Diel, with a score of 79. 

 

“I watched Luke give up three or four strokes he usually wouldn’t mess up on, so for his off-day to be a 79 shows how good he can be,” Cipoletti said.

 

Another exciting performance came from a freshman duo, Cannon Hay and Andrew Evans. Hay shaved 10 strokes off his score from the Jackets last tournament. Hay and Evans are off to strong starts to their collegiate careers, and the success of young players is key from Orlandini’s perspective.

 

“We definitely are a young team, so we want to get the freshmen to be in a few more tournaments before PAC’s so they have experience,” Orlandini said.

 

For Cipoletti, the team boasts a young roster, but they have big goals in mind. 

 

“This team has the ability to knock on the door of being in the top three in the conference. They just need to cut down their individual scores, and cut out the mistakes,” he said.

 

A major area of improvement, Cipoletti noted, was the Jackets’ ability to get the ball in the cup from within 100 yards. 

 

“That’s like the red zone of golf. It’s important to use a minimal amount of strokes from that distance,” Cipoletti said.

 

Cutting down on mistakes from that area will be vital for the Jackets, especially on the greens. 

 

“I was able to get a good shot to the green, but I would just three- putt when I got there,” Orlandini said. “I used way too many stokes putting.”

 

Orlandini’s score of 89 was one of the Jackets’ best scores. 

 

Among other top scorers on the team were junior Will Purbaugh, and his roommate, CJ Sekanick. The duo shot scores of 85 and 86 respectively.

 

The team will compete next Saturday at the Penn State-Altoona Invitational. 

 

“Our goal is to beat the teams that beat us at Grove City,” Cipoletti said. “If we play a little better, we can definitely do it.”