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| Sophomore Owen Elliot's 71 on Sunday was one of the weekend's best rounds |
CLINTON, NY - Despite strong play on Sunday, the Tufts Golf team placed fifth at this weekend's NESCAC Qualifier and failed to become one of four teams to advance to the 2015 conference championship.
Playing at the Skenandoa Golf Club, the Jumbos' four best scores added up to 315 on Saturday and 300 on Sunday for a 615 total. That was 12 strokes out of the top four, who all received berths into the conference championship.
Middlebury College edged host Hamilton College for first place by one shot. The Panthers won the Qualifier at 297-302-599, earning the right to host the NESCAC Golf Championship in April. The host Continentials (301-299-600) placed second while Trinity (302-301-603) and Williams (305-298-603) tied for third.
The Jumbos were 10 strokes out of fourth place after Saturday's rounds with their 315 score. They improved dramatically on Sunday, dropping 15 strokes to shoot the third best team score of the day at 300. All four Tufts scorers shot in the 70s on the second day of play. However, there was too much ground to make up and the teams in front of them played consistently.
After Saturday's opening round, Middlebury was first (297), Hamilton was second (301), Trinity was third (302) and Williams was fourth (305).
Tufts was led by sophomore Owen Elliot, who shot a one-under 71 on Sunday. That tied for the second best round of the weekend. Including his 78 on Saturday, Elliot's 149 for the weekend was +5 and tied for seventh individually.
Junior Brendan Koh added to Sunday's comeback attempt with a 74 (+2). He finished tied for 15th at 153 for two days, adding in Saturday's 79. The third Jumbo to place among the top 20 finishers (out of 49 overall) was senior captain Alex Zorniger, who went 78-77-155 for 18th place. Freshman Taylor Nordan was the fourth Jumbo scorer on both days, carding an 80 and then a 78 for a 158 total.
Williams sophomore Grant Raffel earned individual medalist honors with a one-over par 145. Raffel's two-under 70 on Sunday was the best round of the weekend.
Tufts was attemping to be one of the four teams to advance in conference play for the first time in team history since the conference initiated the Qualifier in 2008.
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