The Iona Golf team’s season is officially underway as they participated in Michigan State’s Fossum Invitational at the Forest Akers West Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich., on Sept. 11-12.   

Their first tournament was tough. The Gaels placed 15th overall and had to deal with some bad weather conditions. The tournament was shortened to a 36-hole competition because of the weather.   

Sophomore Dylan Newman led the Gaels by placing tied for 16th with a two-day score of 151, with a first round 79 and a second round 72.

Sophomore Doug Hoppe also played well as he placed tied for 59th overall with a two day score of 159, with a first round score of 76 and a second-round score of 83.

Michigan State took first place overall in the Fossum Invitational.

The golf team’s head coach, Matt Glovaski, had some comments about the tournament. “Despite some difficult weather conditions, sophomores Dylan Newman and Doug Hoppe both performed well overall. We’ll look to improve over the next few weeks and capitalize on some of the positive things I saw over the weekend.”

Junior Andrew Shortall, sophomore Andrew Graham and senior Jordan Lesansky also participated in the tournament. Shortall finished tied for 63rd, Graham finished tied for 76th, and Lesansky finished 82nd.

Glovaski also added, “We dealt with some tough weather conditions on the first day and dug ourselves into a hole. We played better at times during the second round, but it wasn’t enough to make a difference in regards to placement. I know the team was frustrated with how we played over the weekend and knew they would look to perform better at Bethpage for the McLaughlin.”

The McLaughlin tournament was played in Farmingdale, N.Y., at the Bethpage Red Golf Course from Sept. 17-18.

The Gaels finished tied for 13th as a team, with West Florida winning the event. Newman led the Gaels with a three day total score of 209, 1-under-par, tied for 7th overall. Next best for the Gaels was Graham, who tied for 44th with a total score of 218, eight-over-par.

Shortall tied for 54th with a total score of 220, 10-over-par. Senior Jordan Lesansky shot a total score of 224, 14-over-par, tying for 69th.

Finally Doug Hoppe finished with a total score of 235, 25-over-par.

Glovaski was optimistic when asked about the team this year and who will make a significant improvement from last year.

“I was pleased with how we performed at the McLaughlin as a team. The field this year was very competitive and the scores reflected it. We made a concerted effort to play better after Michigan State and the team really stepped up to the challenge. I’m hoping this performance will be a sign of things to come for the rest of the fall season,” Glovaski said.

The Gaels’ played another tournament on Sept. 27, at the Rehoboth Beach Invitational in Rehoboth Beach, Del., at the Kings Creek Golf Course.

Iona will continue to improve and make great strides in their program to succeed as they continue their fall season.