Inconsistency Plagues Pomona-Pitzer Golf Team
By Joe Gill
Staff Writer

Last Monday and Tuesday, the Pomona-Pitzer men's golf team played in the 53rd annual Southern California Intercollegiate Golf Championship, shooting a score of 949 for the three round event. In a previous contest on March 6, the Sagehens fell to La Verne at Goose Creek by fourteen strokes. This dropped Pomona-Pitzer's league record to 0-2 on the year.

Recently changed to 54 holes over a two-day period, the SIGC annually attracts a strong field. This year teams from Division I through Division III participated, including such schools as San Diego State, Loyola Marymount, and Ivy-Leaguers from the University of Pennsylvania. Facing such stiff competition, the Sagehens finished a disappointing 14 out of 15 teams, last out of the five competing SCIAC schools.

The 7112 yard Santaluz Club in Del Mar challenged the Sagehen golfer's skills. In Monday's first round, Scott Pearsall '05 and Greg Wolfe '03 were Pomona-Pitzer's top two performers, shooting 76 and 78 respectively. Joe Gill '04 carded a 79, while Dylan Pelletier-Ross '06 shot an 82. This contributed to a team score of 315, tying rivals CMS. For the second 18 holes of the day, Gill shot 78 and Pearsall shot 79 on the way to a team total of 318. At the end of 36 holes Pomona-Pitzer held thirteenth place with a 633, 65 over par.

With one round to go, the Sagehen's main problem was consistency. Of the Division III and NAIA schools, Pomona-Pitzer placed second in team birdies, totaling 19 for two rounds. Unfortunately, they placed second to last in team pars, with only 77 after 36 holes. Another notable statistic at this point in the tournament was Pearsall's par-five scoring, leading the pack at three under par.

The Sagehens continued their mediocre performance in the third round, shooting 316. Pearsall shot 77 to again lead Pomona-Pitzer, with Ben Hochstein '04 coming in next at 78. Wolfe put up 80, and Pelletier-Ross contributed an 81. "We had some solid play, but no consistency today," remarked coach Lorn Foster, "The guys just need to step it up".

San Diego State won by an incredible 37 shot margin, shooting a lights out 848, or four under par as a team. Next came Colorado Springs College with 885, and the University of San Diego with 887. Redlands shot the lowest of all the SCIAC teams, carding a fourth-place score of 900, or 48 over par.

On March 6, Pomona-Pitzer faced La Verne at Goose Creek, losing with a score of 312-298. Pearsall and Gill both shot 76's to lead the Sagehens. Hochstein came in next with a 79, while Pelletier-Ross put up an 81. Despite La Verne's poor track record at Goose Creek, the Leopards followed the example of Joe Skovron, who shot 72 to win low medallist.

Foster attributes the early losses to a recent increase of talent in SCIAC. "This is the most competitive league I have seen in my ten years as coach. To have a chance you need to shoot four scores around 75. As a team we need to start shooting close to 305 on a consistent basis," commented Foster.

Pomona-Pitzer returns early from spring break to compete in the Sagehen Invitational on March 20, also played at Goose Creek. They then leave on March 23 for the two-day, 54-hole Kingsmen Invitational at La Purisma. "The Kingsmen is important because all the SCIAC schools come in addition to the Texas schools. This is where our national ranking will be determined," stated Foster. Later in April, critical matches against CMS and California Lutheran, along with the SCIAC league championships, will make or break the season for the Sagehens.