The Huskies put up a strong fight at the UConn Invitational, held at GreatHorse in Hamden, MA, but fell just short of defending their title, finishing second among 13 competing schools from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.
After finishing the second day with a score of +2 and a three-stroke lead over URI, the Huskies shot a surprising +13 today, ending with a final score of +15. This opened the door for the Rams to secure victory at +5. Other notable competitors included third-place St. John’s (+16), fourth-place Boston College (+17) and fifth-place Sacred Heart (+32).
In the individual competition featuring 78 players, the Huskies were led by senior Ray Dennehy, who finished in a tie for second place at -3. Junior Connor Goode followed closely, tying for sixth at even par. Rounding out the Huskies’ top five were senior Trevor Lopez in a tie for 20th (+7), senior Eric Boulger in a tie for 24th (+8) and freshman Matt Costello in a tie for 32nd (+10). Just outside the top five, sophomore Bradley Sawka and senior Vikram Konanki tied for 36th (+11), sophomore Jackson Kantowski tied for 40th (+12), freshman Caden Blanchette tied for 46th (+16) and junior Colin Spencer tied for 54th (+19).
After tying for 24th last year, Princeton, MA senior Dennehy made a significant leap to finish in second place, leading the Huskies on the scoreboard. On day one, Dennehy had a promising start with an eagle on the first hole, finishing the day with eight birdies and a score of 68 (-4), placing him second behind Rhode Island’s Tyler Bruneau. On day two, Dennehy’s score slipped; he managed only four birdies and finished at +2, dropping in the standings. However, he bounced back on day three with a score of -1, completing the invitational with a total of 213, tying with Bruneau and finishing just one stroke behind victor Peiching Chen
Following Dennehy was last year’s champion, junior Connor Goode from Glastonbury, CT, who finished in a three-way tie for sixth place. On day one, Goode had a strong start with four birdies, finishing with a score of 70 (-2). He maintained consistency on day two, adding five more birdies for a score of 71 (-1), which put him in the lead heading into the final day. However, on day three, he shot a 75 (+3), which allowed him to hold onto a tie for sixth place with Holy Cross’ Matt Williams and Sacred Heart’s Michael Rothberg.
Finishing third for the Huskies and tying for 20th overall was senior Trevor Lopez from Winchester, MA. Lopez demonstrated consistency throughout all three days, recording scores of 74 on both days one and two, and 75 on day three. He made six birdies over the course of the tournament, finishing with an overall score of 223 (+7), tying Sacred Heart’s Ethan Phillips, Siena College’s Mike McConie, and BC’s Brian Xu.
Next was senior Eric Boulger, who finished in 24th place, tied with Villanova’s Ryan Pamer and BC’s Benjamin Hong. The Walpole, MA golfer had a strong start, making four birdies and finishing even with a score of 72 after day one. Over the next two days, Boulger posted a pair of 76s, ending the tournament with a total score of 224 (+8) and adding six more birdies.
Rounding off the Huskies top five of the invitational was new coming freshman Matt Costello from Taunton, MA, finishing with a score of 226 (+10). On day one, Costello scored a 77 (+5) with two birdies. On days two and three, Costello managed to lower his scores, scoring a 74 and 75, with a total of seven birdies, ultimately tying in 32nd with BC’s Marcus Lam, Fairleigh Dickinson’s Matus Kudlac, and Merrimack’s Quinn Lapinski.
Overall, the Huskies will have two weeks to rest before heading down south to compete in the Elon Phoenix Invitational from October 14th to 15th. If they can maintain the strong performance they started with, they should be well-positioned for success in this upcoming tournament.