Golf teams complete fall portion of season

The fall portion of the PAC Golf championships is complete, and strides were taken by both the men and the women, just not as big as they hoped.

“Overall, there’s improvement from last year,” first year head men’s coach Mike Cipoletti said. “But I am seeing things that we need to improve on, and that’s stuff that the guys themselves see.”

The men as a team finished in  sixth place after the first two rounds with a combined team score of 693 at Avalon Lakes Golf Course in Warren, Ohio. 

Cipoletti praised the team’s overall improvement not only during the championships, but since the fall season started.

 “They have improved as a team by an average of about 16 strokes per competition,” Cipoletti said. “I think that’s great.”

Individually, the lowest combined scorer for the men was sophomore Luke Diel, firing an, 86 on day one and an 83 on day two, which puts him tied for 19th in the 35-man field.

“I thought Luke grinded pretty well,” Cipoletti said. “When you don’t have your best stuff, and I think Luke would tell you he didn’t have his best stuff, you need to do a great job of minimizing the damage, and he did just that, especially on the second day.”

As for the rest of the Waynesburg men, freshmen Canon Hay and Andrew Evans ended in  25th and 26th place respectively, while junior Will Purbaugh is in 28th, and senior Alex Orlandini is in 29th.

The women find themselves in last place after two rounds of the PAC championships, but head coach Sam Jones is pleased with their continued improvement.

“I thought we represented ourselves pretty well,” Jones said. “Overall I was happy with what we did, and I look forward to continuing that in the spring.”

Senior Alli Delaney led the way for the Jackets, shooting 116 on day one and 121 on day two. Delaney found herself in 25th place in the 36-woman field.

Jones was happy with Delaney’s performance at Avalon Squaw Creek.

“She is new to the golf scene, and she’s doing well,” Jones said. “She’s in that phase where she picks one thing up and then another and done a good job for us for sure.”

Waynesburg was also represented by junior Deanna Nagel, and sophomores Mandi Bruni and Patience Yopb.

The fall season for both golf teams at Waynesburg is now complete, and improving the short game is something both teams look to improve on.

“If we can control our putting speed, they’ll be able to limit themselves to two putts or less on any green,” Cipoletti said.

Jones felt the same about the women’s team. 

“Short game and consistency with our short game will be key in the spring,” Jones said.

The PAC championships will continue with a final round April 18 at Chestnut-Ridge Golf Club in Blairsville, Pennsylvania for the women, and on April 25 at Speidel Golf Club in Wheeling, West Virginia for the men.