By Jacob Rzempoluch, Sports Editor
Originally Published on October 9, 2023
On Sept. 27, golfers from eight different colleges competed at the Saint Vincent College (SVC) Invitational. The Bearcats, hosting the competition at Latrobe Country Club, had a great opportunity to compete against a few Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) opponents a few weeks before the conference championship.
In the preseason coaches’ poll, the Bearcats were voted to finish fifth, a continuation of their results from the past year’s spring championships. The team returns all but one of their scorers from last year’s competition, including All-PAC Honorable Mention and 15th finisher Colt Easterling, sophomore, and PAC Players to Watch Brendan Cooley, sophomore, and Brevin Urso, senior engineering major.
The Bearcats would open their season at the Geneva Fall Opener. SVC finished second behind the Grove City College Wolverines, led by sophomore Alex Leskovansky’s round par score of 71. He was named Bearcat of the Week for this competition-winning and career-best performance. SVC continued to finish seventh at the Grove City College Invitational and fifth at the Mountain Valley Collegiate Classic.
Typically, only the top five Bearcats travel to play. However, the entire 14-man SVC roster was able to compete at their home invitational. The Gold squad, consisting of Urso, Cooley, freshman Evan Bower, sophomore Owen Miele, and freshman Matt Edwards, took the team title with a team score of 336. Urso’s score of 76 was the second best of the day. A score of 342 left the Green Squad tied with the Pitt-Greensburg Bobcats for second place. Senior Anthony Rendulich’s third place score of 80 led the Green team of Easterling, Leskovansky, freshman Owen Dzurko, and sophomore Luke Sell. SVC’s White team finished ninth.
The following week the Bearcats competed at the La Roche University Invitational. Urso was once again the top Bearcat in second place overall, leading the team to a second-place tie with the Westminster Titans B team behind the Westminster A team. The final contest of the fall regular season will be at the Westminster Fall Invitational. The Bearcats will then prepare for the PAC Fall Championship on Oct. 16th and 17th. The event, held at Avalon Lakes in Warren, Ohio, is the first part of a 72-hole championship that will be completed in the spring. Both team and individual champions will be determined by combining scores from each season’s 32-hole event. Defending champions Washington & Jefferson Presidents are predicted to finish second behind the Allegheny College Gators, according to the preseason coaches’ poll.