The Oswego State Lakers men’s golf team will conclude their fall season this weekend in the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship at Ravenwood Golf Club in Victor, New York.
The Lakers will look to continue their stellar performances going into this weekend’s championship. They’ve managed to finish at least in the top three in each event this fall, including three first place finishes.
The young Lakers squad features a strong sophomore class led by Sean Paul Owen, Corey Marshall and Nick Gramuglia, all of whom will be competing this weekend.
Owen is coming off two of his best rounds as a Laker golfer, shooting a 73 at the Oswego Invitational, and a 74 at the Elmira Invitational last week.
“[A] lot of it is mentally, you got to go in to practice every day and try hard to shoot good numbers,” Owen said. “Focus in practice and make every shot count.”
The Lakers make the most of each practice, trying to get better with each shot while staying competitive against each other.
Most golfers on the roster are not very familiar with the course at Ravenwood Golf Club, except for Marshall, who is from the Victor area.
“I’ve played there quite a bit,” Marshall said, “We know what to expect and Friday’s practice round should help with any issues.”
Marshall displayed consistent play throughout the fall season, more notably for his 76 at the Keuka Invitational. Coach Howard was also impressed with him in the qualifying practice last Saturday, posting a round of 67 at the Oswego Country Club.
“We’re a team that wants to win,” Gramuglia said. “So we do what we can to motivate each other.”
The players not only want individual success, but care more for their team success this weekend going up against 17 other schools. Their team bond and chemistry has played a vital role in their success this season and will continue moving toward the biggest weekend of the season.
“Seeing everyone go low gives good self-motivation, especially seeing Sean go low all the time,” Marshall said.
Howard credits how deep and competitive this group has been, making it tough for him to choose who gets to compete in the matches.
“When we have that kind of depth, guys are working hard,” Howard said, “We’ve had some of the best scores in my 23 years of coaching during our team qualifier on Saturday.”
Despite all the success, Howard still sees room for improvement in competitive play and wants more focus heading into this weekend.
“They all have the skills physically, [we’ve] just got to get better mentally,” Howard said. “I saw situations where we gave away shots that we need to focus on not doing.”
Last season, the Lakers came in fourth place at the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship, nothing that Howard found disappointing, but he hopes his players bring the confidence to place better this year.
“We want to be in the mix with those teams and take advantage if they stumble,” Howard said. “We’re good enough, hopefully we can bring our A-game.”
St. John Fisher is the host of this year’s ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship at Ravenwood Golf Club. The competitors are set to tee off at 8:15 a.m. Saturday.
