UTICA, NY - Utica University's men's and women's golf teams are set to travel to Penn Yan, NY, on Wednesday, September 24th, to compete in the Keuka College Fall Invitational. The teams are scheduled to begin their rounds at 10:00 am at the Lakeside Country Club.
The Keuka Invitational: The Pioneers last competed in a Keuka Invitational, and at Lakeside Country Club, on April 12th, 2023. At that event, Utica's women won the team scoring, with the men placing 3rd of eight teams. Each of the top three finishing Pioneers on the male team will return this year, with
Avery Sturtz (Cedar Rapids, IA/),
Carter Lathrop (Walworth, NY/Gananda), and
Neil Roman (Oswego, NY/Oswego) leading the way at the 2023 event. The three golfers turned in scorecards of +13, +14, and +15, respectively.
Paige Graves (Syracuse, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) is the sole returner from the 2023 women's event, where she shot a +34 round, which was 4th best among Utica golfers, and 10th overall among a field of 21.
Crosstown Challenge Recap: Utica didn't have to travel far in their last time out, participating in the SUNY Poly Invitational at Teugega Country Club. Both the men and women placed second in team scoring, with seven teams competing in the men's event, and just Utica and St. Lawrence University competing in the women's event. Nazareth University won the men's team scoring, edging out Utica by just one stroke to finish 1st.
Each team also saw four top-8 finishes a piece as well, with
Aydin Parekh (Nobleton, Ontario/Blyth Academy) even winning the individual scoring of the men's event.
Koltin Pickell (Ellenville, NY/Ellenvlle) finished 3rd at +5, wth
Adam Degregory (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schuylerville) and
Louie Roman (Oswego, NY/Oswego) tying for 8th with +8 rounds.
Claire Draper (Watertown, NY/Watertown) led the Utica women with a +13 round, the 3rd-best overall.
Alaina Weaver (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit Valley Central) and
Jordan Dorrity (Constableville, NY/South Lewis Central) tied for 5th with +21 scorecards, and
Paige Graves (Syracuse, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) rounded out the Pioneer team scoring with an 8th overall, +24 round. Parekh and Draper were both awarded Empire 8 Golfer of the Week honors for their performances.
Quick Turnaround: The men's team will have just a few days off before beginning their first multi-day event of the season. Sunday, September 28th, will begin the two-day Oswego Invitational, hosted at Oswego Country Club. In last year's iteration of the event, Utica placed 4th as a team, finishing 11 strokes behind 1st-place-finishing Hobart. The Pioneers held a two-stroke lead at the end of day one, but a +29 team round on day two had them fall down the board.
Up Next: After Oswego, the men will wait until the following weekend to participate in the Nazareth Fall Invitational. The tournament, which occurs on October 5th and 6th, will be played at a different location each day. The women's next event comes the following weekend, when both teams return to Teugega Country Club for the two-day Empire 8 Fall Invitational.
