The Oswego State Lakers golf team started off the season remarkably in the fall, with six top-three finishes: four first-place finishes, a second-place finish and a third-place finish.

To close out the season, the Lakers finished a respectable fourth place at the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship, with a total of 601 strokes (+25) in two rounds. Those two rounds ended up being the Laker’s best team scores in the fall season.

“They are competitors. They want to compete at a high level and they set the bar in the fall,” head coach Mike Howard said. “Our scoring average was 314, so we know what we are capable of.”

The Lakers, like every team and individual golfers in the Northeast, went through a long winter that gave them short time to practice for the spring tournament.

With Howard coaching Oswego State wrestling in the winter, it is up to everybody else to tidy up their game and stay in shape in the offseason. The Lakers see this as a challenge, but also something they are accustomed to.

“The transition from fall to spring definitely is a lot more difficult considering we only got outside three times before our first tournament,” sophomore Nick Gramugulia said. “We hit in the Romney Fieldhouse, but can’t really tell where the ball is going so it’s hard to adjust in that sense, considering coming in the fall you get to play all summer.”

Making the most of the time Mother Nature offered, the Lakers opened up the spring portion of their season at the Keuka College Spring Invitational on Wednesday, similar to the event they won in the fall at Keuka’s Lakeside Country Club, with a team score of 311.

The Lakers finished in a tie for second place at the invitational. Suffering through blustery conditions, they totaled for a team score of 322, 11 strokes worse than their fall outing and eight strokes off their fall average.

“The guys know the conditions weren’t ideal as far as the course conditions, greens were slow and bumpy and it was wet,” Howard said. “You have to adjust to playing conditions, I don’t think we did a good job with that.”

All Laker golfers at the invitational finished in the top 20, despite some of them posting disappointing spring debut scores. Sean Paul Owen, a sophomore, shot an 84 (+12) round, which was below his standards after his successful fall season.

“Even though we finished in the top-20, I don’t know if either of us [Gramagulia] are too happy with our rounds,” Owen said. “Hit a few good shots here and there, but still rusty from the winter and just hoping to improve next tournament.”

For other Lakers in the field, sophomore Corey Marshall, who finished the fall season strong, posted a top-10 finish, shooting 78 (+6) to lead the Lakers. With a strong competitive group, Marshall is looked upon to be the guy to lead this group all spring and going into the fall.

“[Marshall] is our number one guy right now, so we’re relying on him to go out there and lead us and record a good score every time,” Howard said. “We’ve got to follow though and make sure the other guys are pulling away too.”

With senior Josh Krause graduating this past winter, freshman Erik Schleicher got the opportunity to fill in the roster spot and join a young, talented team. He was given the opportunity to play in Wednesday’s invitational and joined Marshall in the top 10 with a 79 (+7) in his Laker debut.

“[Schleicher] got his opportunity and played good, shot 79,” Howard said. “We know he’s capable of playing at a high level.”

Howard will be making difficult decisions once again with the Lakers’ depth of players on the roster by having to choose the best five to represent the team at the remaining tournaments.

The Lakers will have Thursday and Friday to prepare for their next tournament, which takes place Saturday at the Delhi Spring Invitational. The College Golf Course at Delhi is one Howard and the Lakers have never seen before. They go against SUNY Delhi, who tied for second with them at the Keuka Invitational.

Competitions for the Lakers’ next match are set to tee off at noon on Saturday, as the Lakers look to improve in their second outing of the spring season.

The spring season will culminate with the annual tournament held at the Oswego Country Club.

The Lakers have only finished first once in their home tournament in the 11 years of the event. That was in 2012, when the Lakers topped three other schools with a score of 664. After their strong first half, the Lakers should be among the favorites to place first this year.