After a two-week hiatus, the Penn men's golf team heads to Leesburg, Va., on Sunday to close out its fall season at the Georgetown Hoya Invitational.
"I think the guys are comfortable with how they've played this fall," Penn coach Francis Vaughn said. "They feel good about their golf games heading in."
Last year, the Quakers finished fifth out of sixteen in the Hoya Invitational, while Penn State took the title.
Two years ago, however, Penn cruised to a tournament win at Georgetown, beating runner-up Navy by 11 strokes. Their performance in 1999 was, according to Vaughn, the best in Penn's history -- a three-under-par for the two day tournament.
This year, the Red and Blue will try to establish themselves in a 17-team field. Opponents include Ivy rival Princeton, neighbor Temple, defending champion Penn State and host Georgetown.
"[Beating the district teams] would be a great way to finish off the fall and give us a boost for the spring," Penn junior Chad Perman said. "This is a big tournament, though, and there are some good out-of-district teams.
"Beating a team like East Carolina will help later with rankings and making the NCAA [tournament]."
Penn will be represented by seniors Mike Russell and Trey Best, and juniors Perman and Peyton Wallace. A fifth player had not been chosen by Vaughn at press time.
After finishing tied for fourth at the Lehigh Invitational, Russell is up for the challenge.
"I feel we've played well as a team this season," Russell said. "I've been able to score well even when I haven't hit the ball well.
"[As a team we've] put ourselves in a position to win, but we just haven't played well down the stretch. That's what we have to do [at Georgetown]."
Though Monday afternoon will mark the end of the Quakers' fall season, the year has really just begun for the Penn golfers.
"The players have gotten some great experience heading into the spring season and the Ivy League championships," Vaughn said.
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