Heading into this year’s competition, the Amherst men’s golf team has plenty of reason to be optimistic. Following the team’s success in the 2016-17 season, in which the Mammoths qualified for the NESCAC Championships and placed fourth within the conference, this largely veteran group of golfers will look to capitalize on their experience this fall.

With last year’s first years one of the largest recruiting classes in recent memory, the young talent demonstrated an ability to compete with their older peers in both the NESCAC and other conferences. The trio of Cameron Clark ’20, Cole Vissicchio ’20 and Nicholas Kumamoto ’20 was especially impressive, as they all handled the pressure of NESCAC championships with ease, placing within the top-five Amherst competitors at the tournament.

Clark and Kumamoto shot 158 and 161 over two rounds, respectively, while Vissicchio carded a two-day score of 167 to match the recently graduated Liam Fine ’17. Fellow sophomores Jeffrey Herr ’20, Jack Klein ’20, Will Lonnquist ’20 and Nick Sullivan ’20 have also managed to position themselves as positive contributors. Meanwhile, captain Dan Langa ’18, who has been a team leader both on and off the course since his arrival in 2014, hopes to continue to develop the talented group of underclassmen.

“We are excited about how many guys we have returning,” Langa said. “Last year’s first-year class contributed a lot to our success and they are coming back ready to hit the ground running. We are definitely looking for this to be a successful year.”

Langa hopes that his fellow senior captains Sam Procter ’18 and Mateo Weisner ’18 will provide the steady leadership that will ensure this team’s continued improvement. Langa mentioned that one of his favorite highlights last year came during the NESCAC Qualifying tournament last fall, which usually is quite dramatic as it determines which teams make the spring conference tournament.

Last year, the Mammoths qualified with an impressive third-place finish, just edging out Middlebury College behind traditional powers Williams and Trinity.

Clark led the squad with a low score of 139, which nabbed him first-place overall ahead of Trinity’s Will Rosenfield, while Jack Burlison ’19 followed closely to tie for ninth overall with a score of 148. Both Vissicchio and Langa tied for 23rd, with each tallying 154. Additional highlights from last year include a sixth-place finish out of 18 schools in the Williams Fall Invitational at Williams College and a fourth-place tie with Husson University at the Hampton Inn Invitational in the spring.

Men’s golf will start the fall season on the road at the Bill Deitrick Invitational, which will be hosted by Trinity College on Saturday, Sept. 9.