PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The Felician University men's golf team competed on Monday and Tuesday for the first time in 17 months, finishing second out of seven teams at the Griffin Invitational. The tournament was hosted by Chestnut Hill College at Sunnybrook Country Club.
The Golden Falcons were last in action on October 28 and 29, 2019, at the fall version of the same tournament. The spring half of the 2019-20 season, and the fall leg of this year's campaign, were not contested due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Of Felician's 14 intercollegiate programs, 11 have now resumed play following last spring's pandemic-induced shutdown.
"It meant everything for us to be out there again, and with the other schools," said second-year Felician head coach Joe Ambrose. "We need to keep pushing forward and have events happen like this when we are able to do them safely. Golf has been amazing for a lot of people and the game itself has seen a surge like never before because of the pandemic."
Led by redshirt senior Jake Storako (Laurel Springs, N.J./Highland Regional), who tied for second place out of 35 players in the individual standings, Felician finished just two strokes back of tournament champion Goldey-Beacom College. The Golden Falcons led the field by five shots after Monday's competition, with a 325 to the 330 of Concordia (N.Y.) College. Goldey-Beacom was third with 333. Scores were overall lower on Tuesday on the 6,528-yard par-72, none better that the 308 posted by the Lightning to capture the come-from-behind victory.
GBC sophomore Hunter McGee claimed medalist honors with a four-over-par total of 76-72—148. He was nine shots better than co-runners up Storako (78-78—157) and Gabe Goodman of Concordia. Golden Falcon graduate student Christian Lauchaire (Annandale, N.J./North Hunterdon) (81-78—159) and junior Gonzalo Maldonado Felices (Almeria, Spain/Stella Maris) (77-82-159) tied for fifth place.
Felician freshman Nathan Sampson (Leeds, England/Crossley Heath School) and Dylan Molloy (Spotswood, N.J./Spotswood) made their collegiate debuts at the event. Sampson was 16th with 88-80—168, while Molloy carded 89-86-175 and tied for 21st.
"While we were disappointed to finish second, we feel strongly we can do well in our remaining events leading up to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship," Ambrose said. "We feel we have as good a chance as anyone to win there."
The Golden Falcons next compete at the one-day, 36-hole Mike Bello Invitational, hosted by Le Moyne College on April 12.
