Introduction
The Rensselaer golf team took a respectable sixth out of 15 regional teams, with a score of 306, at the ECAC Division III Upstate New York Qualifier this past Thursday at the Saratoga Spa State Park Course in Saratoga Springs.
Dustin Pusatere’s par round of 72 earned him a tie for second overall in the individual contest and an invitation to the ECAC Golf Championship on October 2 and 3 at the Ravenwood Golf Club in Rochester.
The Red Hawks came up just one stroke shy of qualifying as a team for the ECAC tournament.
St. John Fisher tallied a team score of 293 to win the team tourney while their Mike Stackus’ two-under round of 70 delivered the medal as well.
Mark Wendell also had a solid outing for RPI, tying for 16th with a three over 75.
The Red Hawks also competed in the Duke Nelson Invitational this Sunday and Monday. Rensselaer had another quality outing, finishing 10th out of 25 teams.
Ed LaBombard led the Red Hawks, ranking 21st in the 125 player tournament with a combined score of 159 in two rounds. Teammates Mike Fee and Wendell were just three strokes behind the senior, but finished 17 spots to tie for the 38th position.
The golf team will be back on course next Sunday as they travel to Geneva, N.Y., for the Hobart Invitational.
Schuster, Carter lead cross country
Josh Schuster’s time of 28:27 was good enough for 16th place as the Rensselaer men’s cross country team finished a distant fourth behind host school Williams in the Purple Valley Classic.
Bob Baniak (29:13) and Will Kohut (29:14) came in just one second apart for the 26 and 27 positions in the eight kilometer race.
The women’s squad topped the men by one spot in their five kilometer campaign, taking third behind Lauren Carter’s 21:31 run. Carter, who has led the women in every week, took 29th while teammate Julie Moore finished almost a minute behind in 36th.
Both teams will travel to Vassar next weekend to compete in the Liberty League Championship.
Engineers to share ice with community
The Rensselaer men’s hockey team is ready to begin their season as they prepare to compete against itself in the annual Red/White Scrimmage this Saturday at 5:30 pm at Houston Field House.
Immediately following the scrimmage players from both the men’s and women’s team will be available during the classic Skate with the Engineers open skate around.
Both events are free to the public. The ice will open for the public at 7 p.m. when students, faculty, and members of the local community are encouraged to join the 2004-2005 hockey squads on the playing surface. Those wishing to skate will need to provide their own skates.
Women’s tennis struggles at ITA’s
Coming off the team’s 4-0 season record to-date, members of the women’s tennis team headed to the ITA Championships at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. this past weekend for a chance at individual success. Players from schools all over New York and New England, including some from Division I schools, competed on both Friday and Saturday.
Raimi Ishikawa, Emily Emerick, Lydia Lindhult, and Florine Cannelle represented Rensselaer in the 64-draw singles competition. Unfortunately, none were able to advance past the first round. Ishikawa came the closest to success, losing her first set in a tiebreak 7-6 (5), and the second set 6-1 to Colleen Donnelly of Brandeis. All of the RPI women fell in straight sets.
Looking ahead to the coming week, RPI will face SUNY New Paltz on Friday at home, Plattsburgh State at Plattsburgh on Sunday, and Union in Schenectady on Tuesday.
Editor’s Note: The Poly would like to correct a mistake in last week’s issue. A caption incorrectly cited senior Rami Ishikawa in a photo where the actual participant was teammate Saili Ghanta.
