DANIELSVILLE, Pa. --- The Moravian College golf team opened its 2013-14 season with a third place finish of 14 teams in a weather-interrupted Moravian Fall Invitational hosted by the Greyhounds at Woodstone Country Club Thursday afternoon.
Moravian had a team score of 319 in the tournament that was delayed nearly an hour around 5:30 p.m. during a fast-moving thunderstorm. Most of the players had two holes to finish when the rain and lightning started although one foursome was finished and several groups had three or more holes to play. Centenary College won the tournament with a four-man team score of 315 while Lebanon Valley was second with a 318.
"I'm pretty happy with the way the guys played today," said Head Coach Kevin Edwards '96. "They broke 320 which is a pretty good score for the young guys. We had three freshmen and two sophomores in the line-up. They all gave away strokes here and there on the short game, putting, the little things that we talk about all the time that tends to come back and bite them. They need to do a little better at course management to win the events from now on. Losing by four strokes, everybody could find one shot that they gave away."
Freshman Aaron Brown turned in the Greyhounds low round as he tied for sixth of the 71 golfers with a six-over-par 78 Thursday afternoon on the Woodstone course, having never played the back nine holes there before. Sophomores Evan Dickinson and Jim Maru each had rounds of 80 for Moravian to tie for 13th place while freshmen Andrew Garino and Dan Leppert both turned in cards of 81 in their first collegiate tournament to tie for 18th.
"I was impressed by our sixth man Andrew," Edwards said. "He came through with an 81, and I wasn't really expecting that out of him. It is a good sign because he is another freshman we have for the next four years."
Sophomore James Lobb and freshman Dan Loughlin were both tied for 46th with rounds of 89 during the hot and humid afternoon while junior Scott Nevenglosky had a 91 for the Greyhounds.
Russell Hill from Ursinus College and James Nuzzo from William Paterson University each fired two-over-par rounds of 74 but Hill took the medalist honors with a 36 on the back nine to Nuzzo's 38.
Moravian will return to action on Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22 when the squad heads to the Yahnundasis Country Club in New Hartford, New York for the opening two rounds of the 2013-14 Empire 8 Conference Championships.
