The Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets men’s golf team is getting ready to head to Warren, Ohio next week to compete in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference championships on Oct. 16, and 17. Head Coach Mike Cipoletti and a few players were able to give some insight and expectations going into the tournament. 

“I expect us to do better than what we did last year because three of the sophomores played in it last year, and we have more experience,” Cipoletti said. 

Last year’s team finished last in the PAC tournament as they had to start three freshmen, including sophomore Matthew Karpeal, who’s been able to place at several meets this season, including winning the Bethany Invitational last month.

“I am looking forward to playing this year and I definitely feel that I have improved since last year. I want to play well and see where I place against everyone else in the PAC,” Karpeal said.

On the team this year, the Jackets have had a mixture of experience and youth. They have two veterans, sophomore Hudson Pincavitch and junior Gage Fuller. They also have two newcomers in freshman Michael Clark, and senior Tyler Townsend, who is in his first year playing golf at the collegiate level. 

“I believe that a lot of us are pretty confident heading into next week’s Pac championship. I know that the team and I will play well as long as we focus on the little things and just play golf like we have been doing all year,” Townsend said.

In the Jackets’ last outing of the regular season, they traveled to New Castle, PA to compete in the Westminster Invitational. There, the Jackets finished eighth out of 12 teams with a four-person score of 380.  

“If we just have three guys play three to five strokes better, we’re in the top five,” Cipoletti said.

At the Westminster Invitational, Karpeal placed his season-low, finishing eighth out of 73 competitors with an eight-over score of 80. Clark tied for 28^th, carding an 84, and Pincavitch rounded out the Jackets’ top three, tying for 52^nd with a 91. The Jackets also had Townsend score a 95.

The last team match for the Jackets was Saturday, Oct. 7, against Hiram College, which the Jackets won, finishing their season 3-0, an improvement from last season’s 2-1 record.

The next time the Jackets will be in action is when they compete in the aforementioned Presidents’ Athletic Conference championships on at Avalon Lakes Country Club. They will look to capture their first PAC title since winning back-to-back in 1992 and 1993 when they were led by 1993 Player of the Year, Pat Calvaresi.