Quinnipiac golf hasn’t fallen below fifth place in a tournament in 366 days. As of Sunday, the streak is still alive and well, with the Bobcats finishing second at the Red Bandana Invitational and fifth at the Navy Fall Invitational.
Four golfers moved on from Hamden last spring, leaving large gaps to fill. With half of the roster consisting of freshmen, five tournament spots are up for grabs.
“The people who were usually on the team throughout the years have graduated, and so it leaves a lot of spots open,” senior Meg Yoshida said. “It opens up a lot of opportunities for people who may not have been able to play a lot last year to be able to prove that they deserve to be on the team.”
In a tournament, each team has five golfers who score and contribute to the final total. Teams are able to play more than those five but they are classified as individuals, their scores aren’t added to the final team score.
With a roster split between freshman and returners, there needs to be a way to decide who will be the five for placement. That’s where head coach John O’Connor jumps in.
“My plan is to do (qualifying) for every tournament,” O’Connor said. “The more they compete, the better off they’re going to be, the more relaxed they’re going to be … many of them were more nervous today than they are for golf tournaments.”
With five freshmen on the roster, the qualifying for each tournament helps acclimate them in a competitive space before the spring season.
RED BANDANA INVITATIONAL
For the fourth-straight year the Bobcats participated in the Red Bandana Invitational. In last year’s rendition, Quinnipiac finished in fourth place with Leeyen Peralta ‘23 winning the tournament.
The freshmen who participated in this week’s invitational were Sophia Fujita, Marisa Flores and Amy Goddard, who competed individually.
Flores tied sophomore Natalie Spiska — who had six birdies — for 21st overall, shooting 18-over-par with five birdies, while Goddard shot 43-over-par with one birdie.
“The first-years are (doing) really well,” Galantini said. “They’re all like a big family, no matter who comes in and who goes out. So we’re all really close. And they’ve been doing good.”
Fujita — the highest finisher for the Bobcats — finished in a tie for ninth place shooting a 231 — 15-over-par — with five birdies. As a freshman, Fujita scored the Bobcats’ lowest score in one round of the tournament, shooting even par in round two.
“(During) our first day of qualifying today, Sofia Fujita played very well,” O’Connor said.
Junior Fuge Zhang joined Galantini and Spiska as the returners from last year’s squad.
“My sophomores this year, Alexia, Natalie and Samantha, they’ve come a long way,” O’Connor said. “They’re like upperclassmen now, and I expect a lot from all three of them.”
Zhang tied for 40th and shot 25-over-par with two birdies. Galantini finished in a tie for 25th shooting 19-over-par with three birdies.
NAVY FALL INVITATIONAL
After shipping down to Annapolis, Maryland, Fujita led Quinnipiac for the second tournament in a row. The Torrance, California native, shot a 151 — six-over-par — with three birdies.
Two new Bobcats made their season debut in Annapolis — freshman Vaidehi Shah and junior Sandhya Vaikuntam.
Shah finished in 32nd place shooting 13-over-par with two birdies in round two. The Bridgewater, New Jersey native, had the biggest improvement between the two rounds — for Quinnipiac — shooting 11-over-par in round one and two-over-par in round two.
Spiska —12-over-par with four birdies—, Flores and Zhang—12-over-par with three birdies all returned and equalized in scores to finish in a tie for 26th.
Vaikuntam, who played as an individual, matched Fujita’s score with seven birdies.
The first two tournaments have shown that roster turnover might affect results but Quinnipiac’s goal is always the same.
“This year we have a good chance to win the MAAC again,” Galantini said. “I think the team’s really gonna work hard this year and be extra motivated.”
