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The Rice Thresher
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by JOHN C. CHAO THRESHER STAFF The golf team returned disappointed from its third tournament of the spring season this week after a poor showing at the Louisiana Classic at the Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette. The Owls shot team rounds of 308, 301 and 315 en route to a total of 924 and a 12th-place finish. Rice finished 55 shots behind the University of Arizona, which won the tournament with 869, easily besting its nearest competitor by seven strokes. Junior Frederik Dejaeghere, who led the Owls by carding a 226, said the Owls' shoddy play is due not to a lack of talent but to a lack of consistency. "I don't think we're playing well at all," he said. "We should do a lot better than we are playing, but we can't seem to put low rounds together. "What we need is to get good scores from everybody. Right now, it's hit or miss." Dejaeghere said neither the course nor the weather was a major factor in the Owls' poor play. "That course was not a hard course," he said. "But you can make a lot of bogeys if you're not hitting the ball great." Dejaeghere, who tied for 33rd overall, played well on Monday by shooting rounds of 73 and 72. But he stumbled and shot an 81 in Tuesday's final round. "I played decently the first two rounds," Dejaeghere said. "But as an upperclassman, I needed to play well in the third round and set an example, even if I wasn't on the top of my game." Junior Chris Connolly, who did not make the trip this week, agreed with Dejaeghere's observations. "The whole team needs to step it up," Connolly said. "We can't just go in there and depend on the No. 1 and 2 golfers to carry us. Recognizing the problem is the easy part of any problem. However, prescribing a remedy is the difficult part." It would seem that the only cure for the team's woes is to keep plugging away until shots start falling for them. In addition, Connolly's return to the lineup next week should give the team a boost. The Owls did point to one positive aspect of their recent struggles: Freshmen Bradley Lane and Lee Rowan have been getting significant tournament experience and should only benefit in the future. "The experience that the freshmen are getting is definitely a big plus for the team," Connolly said. "They will be a big help next year." The Owls return to action next week at the El Diablo Intercollegiate in Citrus Springs, Fla. - back -
This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of: The Rice Thresher, Rice University MS-524, PO Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892, USA. The Thresher Online Project -- ethresh@listserv.rice.edu |
