The University of Dallas Golf team opened their spring season Feb. 26th and 27th, competing in the Linda Lowery Invitational golf tournament hosted by Concordia University in Austin.
Dallas was one of 18 teams at the tournament and one of four teams from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference to attend the tournament. The three other SCAC teams were Schreiner University, Southwestern University and Texas Lutheran University.
In the days leading up to the tournament, heavy rain impeded UD’s preparations for the tournament.
“We did not perform our best last week,” said sophomore Erik Hamm. “The weather the week before the tournament really affected our play because we were not able to practice as much as we wanted.”
The Crusaders’ rough week showed on Monday, as they shot 33 over par after the first 18 holes. After the first day, UD was tied for 11th with a score of 317, and last among the four SCAC squads.
The Crusaders improved on their second day of action, shooting 10 strokes better, finishing tied for sixth with Birmingham Southern College with a score of 631. The team also moved ahead of Schreiner to finish third among SCAC teams, beating out their conference opponents by two strokes.
“We played better the second day,” said Hamm. “We were finally getting into the rhythm of golf again after not being able to hits balls for a week.”
Freshman Emilio Montalvo led the way for Dallas, shooting 151 for the tournament and tying for 8th among individual golfers.
The team will head to Kerrville on Monday and Tuesday, March 5th and 6th to compete in the Schreiner Spring Shootout. The tournament will be held at the Comanche Trace Golf Club.
