de>GETTYSBURG, Pa. After missing out on most of their spring season a year ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gettysburg College men’s golf team is ready for an official defense of its 2019 Centennial Conference championship.
Gettysburg captured its first conference championship in 17 years with an incredible comeback in the final round of the 2019 CC Tournament, erasing a 15-stroke deficit to edge McDaniel College and Swarthmore College. The team went on to compete at the NCAA Division III Championship, finishing 24th out of 42 programs.
Despite the loss of a pair of all-conference performers in Danny Harcourt ’19 and Dane Sethre-Hofstad ’19, the Bullets were right on par with that title run during the 2019-20 campaign. Through 10 rounds of competition, the squad posted the second-best scoring average in program history at 305.7. Gettysburg also won its final two tournaments of the 2019-20 schedule, claiming its own fall invitational and opening the spring with a win at the Myrtle Beach Shootout. Just a few days later, the Bullets were recalled from their training trip south and the remainder of the season was cancelled.
The Bullets went through the fall without their usual slate of tournaments, but that didn’t mean the student-athletes and coaches were sitting idle. The team continued preparations for a potential season and defense of their 2019 crown.
“The golfers have been very committed this offseason in preparation for the upcoming spring season,” noted third-year golf coach Nate Davis. “Our golfers have been spending hours in the Trackman room, spending time at the course (weather permitting) and have remained consistent with our strength & conditioning program.
“We have several returners that remember the feeling of losing their season last spring. They are determined to make the most of the opportunity to compete for a conference championship again this spring.”
Gettysburg returns the bulk of its lineup from a year ago, including three starters from both the 2019 conference and national tournaments. Leading the way are seniors Jimmy Harcourt (Fanwood, N.J./Scotch Plains Fanwood), Quinn Greene (New Milford, Conn./Canterbury School), and Daniel Rieger (Collegeville, Pa./Methacton). Greene and Rieger carry identical 78.9 career scoring averages into their final campaigns, while Harcourt has seen his season scoring average drop in each of his years at Gettysburg. Rieger leads all returning golfers with 10 top-10 finishes in his career.
The Bullets are bolstered by a strong junior class that includes Tristan Hochman (Westport, Conn./Staples), Matthew Kalamar (Bethlehem, Pa./Allentown Central), and Hayden Moffat (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham). Hochman was Gettysburg’s fifth conference and national starter as a first-year and he picked up the pace as a sophomore, shaving 2.2 strokes off his season scoring average and posting three top-five finishes in four events. Kalamar (78.3) and Moffat (79.9) both sit under 80 for their career scoring averages as well.
Sophomore Joseph Furlong (Midland Park, N.J./Midland Park) appeared in only one event after transferring to Gettysburg for the spring semester in 2020, but it was an impressive debut as he tied for first among 21 golfers with a 75 at the Myrtle Beach Shootout. Adding to the mix this spring will be freshmen Cameron Deiuliis (Highland, Md./River Hill) and Evan Drummond (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East).
Gettysburg owns the CC trophy heading into the spring schedule, but it shares the top spot in the conference’s preseason poll. The Bullets split six first-place votes with Franklin & Marshall College and the two teams totaled 23 points.
Six events fill up the regular-season schedule, beginning with the McDaniel Invitational on March 27-28 at The Bridges Golf Club. Gettysburg will host events on April 8 and April 17 at Quail Valley Golf Club and Hanover Country Club, respectively. The Centennial Conference Championship is set for April 24 at Hershey Country Club.
With the amount of offseason preparation and the upcoming rounds of competition, the Bullets should have plenty of time to tune their game and get ready for another run at the conference title.
“Our goals are consistent every year with playing our best golf at the conference tournament and earning a Centennial Conference championship,” said Davis. “We feel like are well positioned and have the talent to do it again this spring. Leading up to the conference tournament, the players will be working to refine their game, zero in on the things that will help them score well, and compete at their full potential.”
This story was originally posted on the Gettysburg College Website.