Cornell’s golf team was in Purchase, N.Y., this past weekend playing in the Century Intercollegiate Tournament. Yale — the host school – paced the eight team field, finishing with a combined team score of +32 to place first, while the Red finished seventh with a team score of +59, only 27 strokes behind Yale.Juniors Craig Esposito and Max Koehler led the Red, each shooting +12 for the tournament, tied for 14th place. Much of the improvement has been attributed to just playing the game and not overthinking everything, according to Koehler.“We are definitely moving in the right direction,” Koehler, the tri-captain, said. “The biggest thing for me was to stop thinking about what I was doing wrong and start playing golf. [I had to] stop forcing shots and focus on letting things come naturally.”While Esposito and Koehler played their best tournament of the season, the usually steady junior and tri-captain Carl Schimenti struggled, finishing +26 for the tournament, the worst finish of any player for the Red. Despite the rough tournament, the team has not lost any faith in their captain, according to Koehler.“This weekend was definitely an anomaly with respect to Carl’s scoring; better this week than next,” Koehler said. “I’ve played golf with Carl since we were freshman in high school and he has always been a crafty player who knows how to score. I have full confidence that he will forget about this weekend and come back as the Carl that we all know; someone who believes he can win and backs that belief up with great play.”Although the Red finished seventh in the tournament, placing only above Yale’s ‘B’ team, the Red were much closer to the top of the scoreboard than in past tournaments. As a result, the Red feels confident for the Ivy League Championship next weekend, the last tournament of the year.“I think our team is in a good spot heading into the Ivy League Championship,” Koehler said. “Throughout the spring season we have all had our ups and downs; that’s just how golf is. Along the way, I think all of us have become more and more confident. I’m not going to going to sit here and say Iexpect a victory, but I will say that I am optimistic going into this weekend. I believe that if we stay focused and determined throughout the weekend and fight for every shot on the course, we have as good a chance as any to win.”The Red will participate in the Ivy League Championships next weekend at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, M.d. in the final tournament of the year. With the championship coming up, the Red will remain very loose in their preparation and not make any drastic changes in their games or routines, according to Koehler.“Heading into this weekend, I think it is important not to make any major tweaks, just little adjustments to the full swing if any,” Koehler said. “The most important thing is to keep our short games sharp; the short game can save more strokes than any other aspect of our games. Other than that, I think we are going to keep practice pretty light and fun this week … golf is supposed to be fun and we all love to play and compete. By combining that with focus and a burning desire to win, we should be [in good shape].”
Original Author: Albert Liao