Swarthmore Golf Back in the Swing
The Swarthmore golf team looks to capitalize on its young talent after a historic 2007 season, unveiling a new lineup with a twist in 2008.
Following a school record fourth-place finish at the 2006 Centennial Conference Championship, Swarthmore entered the 2007 Championship at Pilgrim’s Oak Golf Club (Peach Bottom, Pa.) with high expectations. Sitting comfortably in fourth-place after the second round, Swarthmore rallied for a second-place finish, just nine strokes behind Franklin and Marshall. The final Garnet team score of 933 momentarily tied the all-time Conference Championship record set by the 1995 Gettysburg squad; however, that record fell minutes later by when the Diplomats entered the clubhouse with a 924 final team score. Nevertheless, the Swarthmore’s Sunday score of 306 was the lowest final round score of the 2007 tournament.
Garnet golfers Eric Zwick ’07 and Zach Moody ’07 received All-conference honors, and Zwick named to the 2007 ESPN the Magazine Academic All District-II Men’s At-Large Second Team and the Philadelphia Inquirer Golf Academic Performer of the Year. Moody also received recognition for his outstanding leadership, receiving the Kwink Trophy, awarded annually to the Swarthmore senior male who exemplifies service, spirit, scholarship, society and sportsmanship.
In addition to the loss of Zwick and Moody, the Garnet also enter 2008 without the services of Ed Goldstein ’07 (low man in the first round of the 2004 CC Championships), and David Lau ’09, currently studying abroad in England at Oxford University.
Despite these setbacks, third-year head coach Jim Heller looks to build on the success of the 2007 season, laying the groundwork for a first-ever Centennial Conference title. Coach Heller has brought Garnet golf to new heights and is preaching a focus on the short game in 2008.
This year’s Garnet squad is relatively young, yet boast several players with valuable tournament experience. Leading the Garnet are tri-captains Darren Johnson ’08 (Lexington, Va. / Rockbridge County), Michael Bernasek ’09 (Fairfield, Conn. / Hopkins School) and Jeffrey Lazarus ’10 (Woodcliff, N.J. / Pascack Hills). Lazarus (photo above) has three top-five finishes in his brief Swarthmore career while Bernasek (below) looks to build upon a strong finish to the 2007 season. Michael Johns (Wilmington, Del. / St. Andrew’s), John Russo (Bloomfield, N.J. / Bloomfield) and Armand Russo (Bloomfield, N.J. / Bloomfield), all veterans of the golf team, round out the senior class. Newcomer Kelly Schoolmeester ’10 (Irmo, S.C. / Irmo) is expected to contribute to the team’s success right from the first tee box.
Heller unveils another new phase to Swarthmore golf this spring. For the first t
ime in over 50 years, two women will compete. Ashley Acle ‘11 (San Diego, Calif. / San Diego) and Samantha Phong ’09 (Long Beach, Calif. / Polytechnic) will compete in the Conference Championships as individuals and can be seen at several home matches throughout the season.
The Garnet open the spring season with a training-trip to the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C., former site of the Ryder Cup, PGA Tour Championship, U.S. Open, and the site of the 2008 U.S. Amateur. The trip includes the Swarthmore’s first contest of the spring, a non-conference match against University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg.
Upon returning to Swarthmore, the team begins competitive play on March 24 at Rolling Green Country Club in Springfield (Delaware), Pa., annual home course of the Garnet. The team will play in several prominent 36-hole tournaments this season, including the Glenmaura Collegiate Invitational at Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic, Pa., and the McDaniel Spring Invitational at The Bridges Golf Course in Abbottsville, Pa. (site of the 2008 Centennial Championships. The season concludes the weekend of April 25-27 with the 72-hole Conference Championships, hosted by Gettysburg College. The winner of the Championship earns the Centennial Conference’s automatic bid to the Division III National Championships at Chateau Ellan Resort in Braselton, Ga.