Louis Vandeputte at the Ryan T. Lee tournament where the team placed 6th out of 16 teams.
GOJASPERS.COM / COURTESY
By Angelina Persaud, Managing Editor/News Editor
The Manhattan University Men’s Golf team is making a name for themselves at the start of the season with their sixth place finish at Ryan T. Lee and a first place tie at the SHU Classic.
Ryan T. Lee was the team’s first appearance of the season, including for the team’s freshman athletes who didn’t hesitate to bring all their effort onto the green. Against 16 other teams, the Jaspers were up seven shots from 36 holes.
Some notable performances came from the team’s freshest talent, including Cabell Faulkner who scored two birdies and had back to back -1 marks. Additionally, Louis Vandeputte made a key birdie on hole 18 and tied for 13th overall. Freshman Róbert Leó Arnórsson also made similar scores to Vandeputte and was up two at the end of the match.
Faulkner spoke about the view the team has of itself following their performance at Ryan T. Lee.
“We put in a lot of work in the weeks preparing for the Ryan T. Lee because we knew we needed to show who we truly were, and what we were capable of,” Faulkner said. “And after the first day, I think we definitely showed people that were capable of being in the hunt. And it was a great feeling for all of us.”
The team’s first place with Hofstra University at the SHU Fall Classic was another tournament that showcased the potential of the players while allowing them to seek room for improvement.
Keith Prokop, coach of the golf team, spoke about the team’s ambitious nature and how they have “lofty goals” they are hoping to achieve even beyond the SHU.
“I still think as a team we have extremely lofty goals, so we need to be learning from every experience,” Prokop said. “I still think we could have been able to capitalize on a couple things here and there. Obviously proud of the results in general, because running an event at the division one level, it’s extremely difficult to do.”
The official tie occurred with both MU and Hofstra up 37 among eight other teams in the competition. Arnórsson came in to lead the team to a tied score of +1 after scoring three birdies in a row. He also scored in 41 holes, the most out of any player for the tournament. According to a press release from GoJaspers, “The T1 is the Jaspers’ best team performance since earning second place at the Metropolitan Intercollegiate last fall.”
Arnórsson spoke about how individual mentality is a crucial aspect in maintaining focus and skill during these competitions.
“It’s such an intellectual sport, and you can’t control what the others do, and you can’t have an effect on others like how the shots can,” Arnórsson said. “So it’s really important to just focus on yourself and not look at the leaderboard too often.”
Vandeputte also commented on his main takeaways from the SHU and how it helped shape his perspective on team effort.
“One thing I learned from the SHU event was to never stop fighting for the team, because I was playing really bad, and I thought my score would never count,” Vandeputte said. “But eventually the tie happened, and I learned to fight for the team until the end. So that’s something I learned from that event.”
The team also spoke about the strategies they’ve enacted this season, early on, to ensure they give themselves the best possible chance of success. Among these strategies include relying on statistical software to determine areas of strength and weakness when it comes to hitting specific shots and targets.
“One thing coach [Prokop] has changed in the program this year is we’ve taken a really statistical approach to our practice, so we use statistical software to help us practice with purpose and practice parts of our game that we’re struggling with individually,” Faulkner said. “Even though golf is a team sport, it is very individual, and in that we all have our own strengths and weaknesses, and out on the golf course, we’re playing by ourselves. And so the statistical practice has really helped us find the little parts of our game that we need to work on.”
Prokop also commented on the individuality of the sport, noting that being alone on the course for extended periods of time requires checking in with players frequently about their mental health. He noted that the sixth place to first place tie turnaround was a test of mental strength for the team.
“It’s really hard for college age males to be able to be extremely open about what’s going on mentally,” Prokop said. “I think that first tournament was so humbling…allowed them to open up and say ‘we need to be able to be stronger mentally’, especially when things get rough. We’re not a finished product yet, but I’m very happy with how open the 10 of my guys are mentally about what’s going on, because that is what’s going to separate us moving forward.”
Cabell has hopes for the future of the team and himself as a player. His main goal is to focus on the growth of the team and improve their strengths together into the regional competitions.
“I want each and every single one of us to be able to look back over the years and say, ‘I gave it everything I had’,” Cabell said. “We put in 100% effort, each practice, each tournament, each off day, to utilize our time wisely and and with that, I don’t see why we can’t win regionals.”