EMU’s Disc Golf team traveled to Olean, New York, the weekend before fall break to compete in their first regional tournament of the season. After a six and a half hour drive north, the team was able to get a preview of the course before jumping into the singles round Saturday morning. Between the singles round and the team round Sunday morning, the tournament director Rich Long hosted several small competitive events for players to participate in, in all of which EMU was well represented. 26 men’s teams and three women’s teams made the trip for the Mid-Atlantic regional tournament, creating a competitive yet encouraging atmosphere for players.
“I really enjoyed getting to know the other women that I played with, and how it was a supportive environment to play in,” mentioned Sophomore Rose Short. “The doubles round went really well for Sadie and I. I felt like we communicated well and that helped to minimize mistakes.” The women’s team put together a fantastic doubles round to definitively take second. They beat out third-place Houghton University by nine strokes and were only four strokes behind first-place University of Pittsburgh.
On the men’s side, the B team finished the singles round with their average score putting them in 16th place. After putting together a really solid team round they crawled up to tie for twelfth, leaving them just short of earning a D2 bid to College Disc Golf Nationals (CDGN) this coming April. Following a rollercoaster of a singles round, the A team started out their team round in fifth place but climbed their way into a five-way tie for first place by the end of it. After a hard-fought four-hole playoff, the EMU Men’s A team landed third overall securing themselves a D1 bid to CDGN. In a moment heartily celebrated between EMU spectators, First-year Jesse Longenecker cashed a roughly 30-foot putt to beat out Slippery Rock University.
“I enjoyed the team environment,” shared Longenecker. “Most of the tournaments I play have been very individual. I appreciate how we could celebrate success together without there being an underlying issue of competition.” This finishing putt was not the first-year’s only noteworthy moment of the weekend, as he individually won the long-drive competition with a whopping 572-foot throw and the men’s Ring of Fire putting competition in five rounds. Sophomores Yuji Wenger and Caleb Metzler, as well as First-year Theo Andreas also put well in the competition, making it into the top ten. On the women’s side, Short beat out Senior teammate Sadie Oesch and University of Pittsburgh’s Annie Lordi to win their Ring of Fire. Overall it was a very successful weekend for the EMU Disc Golf teams, and they are now gearing up for their home tournament hosted at Westover Park on November 9th and 10th.
Disclaimer: Caleb Metzler is a member of the men’s disc golf team as well as a current editor of the Weather Vane.
