Lehigh men’s golf defeated Lafayette 8-5 in the President’s Cup on April 23.
The tournament, which was founded in 2011, is played at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, New Jersey. The tournament was created by Todd Stires,‘82, and a Lafayette alum who are both members of the club.
Typically held in the fall, the tournament was played in the spring this year due to COVID-19.
Hamilton Farm Golf Club has an 18-hole regulation course and an 18-hole par-three course. There are three different competitions that take place in this tournament: a best-ball match played on the front nine of the regulation course, an alternate shot match played on the regulation course back nine and an 18-hole singles match played on the par-three course, scored out of seven points.
This year, however, the best ball match and the alternate shot match were both played on the back nine since the front nine of the course was undergoing construction.
Lafayette took the best ball match by a score of 2-1, but Lehigh bounced back in the alternate shot contest, claiming a 2-1 victory. The team took home the singles match play by winning four matches, losing one, and tying two, accumulating to a final match score of 8-5.
Freshman Marco Arosemena scored the best out of the team in match play by defeating his opponent by a wide margin. With three holes remaining on the 18-hole par three course, he had already claimed victory by scoring four points higher than his opponent.
“It felt pretty nice to win with the whole team because everyone contributed,” Arosemena said. “Out of the eight points we made, everyone made a point or half a point at least. And to beat Lafayette, it always feels nice.”
The President’s Cup victory follows a strong showing from the week prior, in which Lehigh came out on top of the ABARTA Coca-Cola Collegiate Invitational during the weekend of April 18.
Head coach Henry D’Alberto believes this was the team’s best performance of the spring and said it generates confidence the Mountain Hawks can build on.
D’Alberto credited the sophomore class particularly for helping lead the way in the President’s Cup and the Wildcat Invitational which took place on April 12.
“This team is really coming together and these kids are all really good competitors,” D’Alberto said. “They’re hungry and they want to win.”
Lehigh looks to continue the momentum they have built at the Patriot League Championship on May 1.
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1 Comment
Words of a Freshman: “And to beat Lafayette, it always feels nice.”: an understatement which will become more evident with time.
Hats off to the two alumni who started this competition. Lafayette students and graduates are to be respected for their part in a great rivalry.