The West Chester University women’s golf team finished sixth out of 12 at the Clarion Fall Invitational on Sept. 22 and 23. The Golden Rams were led by Nicole Cavalcante, who shot a 163 in the 36-hole event, tying for seventh place individually. The team finished with a combined score of 691, while Kutztown won the tournament with a 662.
Throughout day one, the Golden Rams were ranked in fifth place, but still within striking distance of taking the lead. Cavalcante shot a 78 for the day and was ranked second overall. Gabby Couture shot an 86, Nicole D’Urbano shot an 88 and Jenna Hopkins shot an 89 as the Rams turned in a team total of 341.
Coach Doug Hendricks was certainly happy with the team’s play through the first day.
“For any two-day event, the first day is always important, Hendricks said. “In most cases, a good start will give you the confidence to be successful in the second round.”
“After day one we were only a few strokes back from being in second place,” Cavalcante said. “As a team, we all saw where we could have saved a few strokes during our round and knew we should have been fighting right behind Kutztown for second or first place.”
The big story following the first 18-holes was the performance of Cavalcante.
“Nicole Cavalcante had a terrific first day,” Hendricks said. “With her talent, we should see more rounds in the 70’s this fall. Her putting was the key to her first round success. She had 11 putts on the front nine, which is terrific.”
During day two, Grace Battista led the team shooting an 81. Cavalcante shot an 85 and Gabby Couture shot an 87. D’Urbano and Hopkins each shot a 97, but only one those counted towards the team’s second day total of 350.
Battista, who had struggled on the first day, finished the tournament strongly as she ranked 17th overall. She was the only Golden Ram golfer to drop her score from the first round.
“Our captain, Grace Battista, had a turning point from day one into day two as she knocked ten strokes off her first day score (91),” Cavalcante said.
Overall, the Golden Rams were disappointed with their performance and realized they did not make the most of their opportunities in the final 18-holes.
“As far as our team performance, I do not think that we played up to our capabilities,” Cavalcante said. “We need to be more consistent as a team.”
The Golden Rams are hopeful they will take a lot from the tournament at Clarion.
“I believe the team was very disappointed in the second round and hopefully we can learn from the experience,” Hendricks said.
“Our sixth place finish at Clarion can only impact the rest of our season in a positive way,” Cavalcante said. “As a team, we saw our strengths and weaknesses and what we need to work on for the next four weeks as we prepare for PSACs in Hershey.”
The team had the past week off, as they prepare for Kutztown on Oct. 6.
Coach Hendricks has a firm idea on how he will prepare his team.
“It was quite obvious by the stats, that if we putt better, we will knock several shots off of our team score,” Hendricks said. “We will spend the majority of our practice time this week on and around the green.”
“After coming off a tough weekend we have nothing but motivation to get better and compete to our full capabilities,” Cavalcante said. “We will work on the in’s and out’s of our game as we physically and mentally prepare.”
Last year at the Kutztown Invitational, the Golden Rams finished second to the home team.
However, this year, Cavalcante is hopeful the final results will be different.
“We know we are just as good as our fellow PSAC competitors, so we will put much hard work into reaching our goal place placing top three in PSACs,” she said. “We will give them a run for their money on their home course and hopefully come out on top.”
The team’s next competition is the Kutztown Fall Invitational, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday.
Justin Park is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies with a psychology minor . He can be reached at JP727711@wcupa.edu.