The UConn men’s golf team looks to take the horns in Annapolis, Md., this weekend during The Goat at the Naval Academy Golf Club.
Named for their mascot Billy the Goat, this will be the Naval Academy’s second year hosting the tournament. It will also mark the Huskies first appearance in the event. The field expanded from 15 teams to 16 this year.
In the inaugural tournament, the University of the Pacific took home the win with a nine-stroke lead over the field. Pacific will not be in the field for the event this year; they will compete this weekend at The Tindal hosted by the University of Washington.
Maryland-Loyola returns to the event after finishing in second place at last year’s tournament. Loyola posted a team 283 in the final round of the weekend to leap over Columbia University in the standings.
Loyola fourth-year Gustavo Rangel, who was the tournament’s individual winner as a junior last season, will make his return to Annapolis this weekend. His 68 (-3) in the opening round and 69 (-2) in the third helped secure him a –3 finish for the tournament.
UConn enters the weekend coming off a fourth-place finish at The Metropolis Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 9, tying with host Columbia. This was the Huskies best season opener finish since 2021.
Third-year Bradley Sawka led the way for the Huskies with his career-best individual finish, coming in fifth place overall. Sawka stood out with consistency through the weekend, not turning in a card over a 72 (+2).
As a sophomore last year, Sawka was one of three golfers to appear in 11 events for UConn. He made both a top 10 and top 20 finish on the season.
Fourth-year Connor Goode will look to build off his success at the Metropolis as he tallied another top 20 finish to his résumé, placing No. 17 overall in the event.
In last year’s event, Navy finished in fifth place at their home course. Fourth-year Jack Tarzy finished in second place individually as a junior, his career-best tournament finish.
Tarzy closed the tournament with a 67 (-5) to climb 17 rungs up the standings ladder on the final day of competition. His 211 (-2) score through the weekend was the lowest tournament score of his career.
The tournament hosts have gotten off to a slow start this season, finishing in 13th place at the Folds of Honor Collegiate on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Tarzy shot an 81 (+10) on his third and final round to drop to 66th place overall.
The two-day 54-hole tournament will tee off on Saturday, with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.