This year marks the inaugural season for the Marywood University golf team. Men’s basketball head coach Eric Grundman is at the helm of the program. He has one goal for his players this year.

“Simply put, we want to get better and better every day,” Grundman said. “We want to get better match by match to prepare us and put us into a position in the conference tournament and prove that we are one of the better golf programs in the conference.”

The newest Pacer team will play in the Colonial States Athletic Conference, facing teams such as Baptist Bible College, Cabrini College, Centenary College, Immaculata University, Keystone College, Philadelphia Biblical Bible University, and Rosemont College. Recently, the team took second place in a tri-match against Misericordia and Wilkes.

Much like the men’s tennis team, the golf team will compete in the fall and the spring athletic seasons, with the conference championship tournament held in April.

Including the tri-match, the Pacers will participate in three other matches, including the fall finale at the Immaculata University Invitational at Inniscrone Country Club. This tournament is set up like the conference tournament in April, giving the Pacers a practice at their first championship run.

Once the spring semester arrives, the team will take its talents on a trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., playing at the Barefoot Resort, taking part in two matches. When they come back north, the Pacers will play in six or seven matches in preparation of the conference tournament.

The sport itself is very different in terms of figuring out the final score. In collegiate golf, the golfers with the four best scores are added together to form a final score. As far as golf scores go, the lowest score is the best score. Now, let’s meet the Pacers.

The team consists of multiple student athletes that compete in different arenas, knowing what Division-III competition is like. Grundman’s basketball players Kirk Fallon and Jimmy Lavan, baseball’s John Stolan, and lacrosse player Derek Sturdevant are on the roster. Freshman M. Frank Major, who spent the last year at the United States Golf Academy, is on the roster. Paul Kania, who golfed when the sport was offered as a club, has been a benefit to the roster. Robert Crofton and Matthew Janovicz round up the roster for the fall.

John Stolan believes that with the team’s experience, there is no excuse for blunders.

“Even though we are a first year program, there is no excuse for playing poorly,” Stolan said. “We have a solid roster of excellent golfers.”