DJ Lindquist | Echo
At the Battle of Blackthorn on Saturday, the Taylor men's golf team shot a total team score of 306 to finish in fifth place.
The top two finishers for the Trojans were freshmen Nick Waskom and Mitch Lamping with 74-75 and 71-78 finishes, respectively. The two tied for sixth with scores of 5-over-par. Both freshmen were glad to contribute in a major way and hope that with hard work, they can continue to contribute in this way.
"It is good to know that you are contributing to the team in tournaments," Waskom said. "There is still a lot we need to improve on to be where we want to be."
Freshman Trey Turner and junior Stefan Fahlen played for the Trojans as well. Turner scored 81-77 to finish 32nd while Fahlen was +10, scoring 78-76 and tying for 18th place.
The team is also very pleased with the senior leadership of captains Grant Hall, Tucker Fahlen and Nate Scheibe-especially their willingness to lead by example.
"They show me how to be a good teammate and provide good leadership," Lamping said.
As the season progresses, the team will emphasize playing with grit and focusing on every shot within the round. It realizes that in order to outplay the fierce competition to come, it will need to improve not only its skills but mental toughness.
"Obviously, you have to have the physical skills to make good swings and shoot good scores, but handling failure and adversity is where great players and great teams separate themselves, so we talk about that often," said head coach Cam Andry. "This is probably the best ball-striking team I've had in my four years here at Taylor. We're hitting more greens in regulation than my teams have in the past and that certainly makes it easier to shoot good scores."
As the end of the season approaches, the Trojans want to strive towards greatness. They hope with the right attitude and skillset, they can finish atop the Crossroads League, after finishing second last year.
"The Crossroads League is far stronger and more competitive this year than it has been in any other year since I've been at Taylor," Andry said. "There are legitimately five or six teams who could claim the league championship, but I believe we are certainly in the conversation, and if we continue to get better I think we will have as good a chance as anyone."
The Trojans travel to Michigan on Oct. 6-7 to participate in Arnie's Intercollegiate Invitational hosted by Taylor.
Photograph provided by TU Sports Information Department
