In what seemed to be a microcosm of their entire season, the golf team improved by 32 strokes and jumped five places in the standings on day two of the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association championships in Brewster, Mass., Oct. 20 to 21 to finish in 22nd place out of 44 teams, seventh out of Division III squads.This was the second time this season the Judges moved up in the standings on the second day of a two-day tournament. The squad finished in sixth place overall at the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament Oct. 4 to 5 after ending the first day in 10th place.

Aaron Cusato '12 led the way for the Judges, finishing tied for 25th place out of 216 total golfers by shooting a two-day total of 11-over-par 155. He was also seventh among Division III golfers and posted the best individual score and finish at the NEIGAs in coach Bill Shipman's tenure at Brandeis. Cusato, who was the only player on the team to compete in every round this season, had the best individual scores on the team for both days.

"It's an honor [to hold those records] because it's my first year, and I feel like I have a lot of improvements I can make," Cusato said.

"[Cusato] is a very solid freshman, and we're happy to have him," captain Ralph Harary '09 said. "He handled the pressure [of playing in a big tournament] very well."

Every Brandeis golfer improved his first-day score by at least five strokes.

While some of the players said they were more relaxed on the second day of the tournament, they also said weather played an important factor.

"The weather [the second day] was so much better. It wasn't as windy, it wasn't as cold, and that helped a lot," Cusato said.

Cusato estimated that the winds reached up to 40 miles per hour on Monday.

Charles Sacks '11 finished second for the Judges and tied for 95th place overall, improving by six strokes on the second day of competition to shoot a two-day total of 20-over-par 164.

Alex Podell '09, who finished third for the Judges, also cracked the top 100 by shooting a 21-over-par 165. Podell tied for the 100th spot by shaving nine strokes off his first-day score.

Podell also captured the long-drive competition, one of the tournament's three skill challenges, with a 363-yard blast. Every team in the tournament was allowed one different player representative to compete in each of the skill competitions.

Lee Bloom '10 had the best two-day turnaround for the Judges with an 11-stroke improvement from Oct. 20 to Oct. 21 to end the tournament shooting a 22-over-par 166, good for a 110th-place tie. Bloom finished the season leading the team in top-5 and top 10-overall finishes, at two and four, respectively.

Harary rounded out the scoring for the Judges, finishing with a two-day total of 31-over-par 175.

Harary also became the second-straight Brandeis player to win the putting contest on the tournament's nine-hole putting course. Jeffrey Stein '08, who has since graduated, won the putting competition last season.

All four of the scoring golfers for the Judges broke 80 strokes on Tuesday. The team's second-day score of 21-over-par 309 was their best single-day score at the NEIGAs under Shipman.

"We're thrilled with how we did this season, because I know that when I was a freshman and earlier on, we were not very well-respected, and I know that now we're [considered] one of the top Division III teams in New England," Harary said.

"It's exciting to be on a team that gets to compete with the best in New England," Cusato added. "We have the players that, on a good day, we can shoot a good score and compete with any team, so it's exciting to know that's possible."

The Judges have concluded their fall season and will next compete in the spring, which is scheduled to begin in April. Harary said everyone on the team is expected to be back for the spring season.