![President Todd Pfannestiel poses with Jeremy Thurston chairperson Board of Trustees [left] and former chairperson Robert Brvenik [right] after accepting the university's institutional charter.](https://uticatangerine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/unnamed.jpeg)
Shane Kelly, Staff Writer
The Utica College golf team competed in the Empire 8 Golf Championships at Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pennsylvania last Saturday and Sunday.
Due to the harsh weather, this was UC’s first time to get out playing other Empire 8 teams all season. Players on the team stressed how they were disappointed it was their first time on a golf course this spring.
“The rescheduling really did not help us to prepare for the difficulty of the Hershey course,” senior Ryan Sosnowski said. “We weren’t ready for it.”
The Pioneers had a tough break due to the rescheduling, which resulted in UC finishing eighth in the Empire 8 Championships.
The tournament was set up where the teams played four rounds of golf. Five players from each team played four individual rounds of golf. Each of those four scores is added up and all five players combined totals is the team’s totals for the tournament.
UC finished with a team score of 1459. The top three teams were St. John Fisher (1222), Moravian (1260) and Stevens Institute of Technology (1282).
Freshman Alec Roback led the way for the Pioneers. He shot a personal best of three 87’s at the championships. He finished 27th overall with a four-round total of 360, and it was the best score for a member of the team.
Right behind him was senior Ryan Stalker. He placed 28th overall with a four-round score of 361. Sosnowski placed 32nd and finished his four-round total with 365. Rob Broccoli and Matt McCaffery finished 36th and 37th. Broccoli finished with a total of 384 and McCaffery with a 441.
Despite the outcome of the tournament, the team was still happy to finally get a chance to play golf after a long winter.
“The tournament did not go as well as I planned,” Sosnowski said. “We all were not prepared for the fast greens at Hersey because of the weather we have been having in Utica. It has made all the greens we practice on slower, but we finally had some decent weather to play in, which was good.”
UC returns to the course on Saturday, April 30. The Pioneers travel to Oswego for the Laker Spring Tournament at Oswego Country Club.
Featured image; Freshman Alex Roback led the way for the Pioneers at the Empire 8 Championships last weekend. He placed 27th overall. Photo by ucpioneers.com.
