Author: Alex Nieves
The Occidental men’s and women’s golf teams both opened up their SCIAC league seasons in what was supposed to be a two day tournament on Feb. 23-24, before extremely high winds over 50 MPH forced officials to cancel the second day of play. The teams headed out to play at the Empire Lakes golf course in Rancho Cucamonga where they were matched up against all seven of the competing SCIAC squads, excluding Cal Tech.
Day one of play featured pristine playing conditions, offering a good opportunity for the Tigers’ six first-year players to get their first taste of conference play. It also gave the returning players a chance to start their tough league schedule on the right track. The SCIAC is arguably the top conference in Division III with three men’s teams ranked in the top 11 nationally, based on the Golf Coaches Association of America rankings.
Two players on the men’s side played very strongly as Rammi Hazzaa (senior) shot a career-best 72, good for even par, and Ari Reiger (junior) recorded a round of 78.
“I’m really fortunate to have played well in our first conference tournament and believe it is because of hard work and determination,” Hazzaa said of his performance, “I hope it is a good sign for better things to come the rest of the season.”
Reiger, the Tigers’ number three player, started of the day shaky, hitting five over par on the front nine due to poor putting. But he came on strong at the end, hitting one over through the final nine. Reiger credited his strong finish on the day to his ball striking.
“I was hitting the ball extremely well all day, like one of the best days I’ve had,” he said.
However, other than the performances from Hazzaa and Reiger, both teams struggled overall. The men finished in seventh place with a team score of 32 over par and the women finished last with no one shooting better than Katie Park’s (junior) 84, good for 12 over. This was a very disappointing result for both teams and new head coach Andrew Larkin ‘12. Larkin felt that the men’s side could have finished as high as fourth and believed that Park had a chance to be the overall winner on the women’s side.
“Early nerves was a huge factor,” Larkin said. “This was the first SCIAC, first big tournament for 3 of our men and women. The nerves cost us a ton of strokes on the front nine.”
Despite the lack-luster play overall, the Tigers still have a chance to compete well in the SCIAC, as the teams still have another league match to play in addition to the SCIAC championships at the end of the season. This first outing can also be used as a learning experience as Larkin attempts to work in the younger players.
The next test for both teams is a one-day friendly match against the University of Pennsylvania on Mar. 4.
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