After shooting a school-record low round at the Bowdoin College Invitational last Sunday that resulted in a third-place finish, the golf team came into last Tuesday's Elms College Blazer Invitational with a new mark to its name and a chance to improve upon history. The Judges did just that by means of their third-place finish instead of by another record-breaking round.

The squad shot a 36-over-par 320 for the tournament, putting it just one stroke behind Franklin Pierce College, a Division II team, and 10 strokes behind the first-place Nichols College.

The team was led by Aaron Cusato '12, who finished sixth overall with a seven-over-par 78, and Scott Beaulac '12, who shot one stroke behind Cusato at eight-over-par 79. Daniel Goldsmith also fared well, shooting a 12-over-par 83, good enough for a tie for 18th place.

Despite his team-best performance, Cusato was a bit disappointed with his game at times. He also said that this event was not as competitive as future ones will be, so to struggle in it would not be detrimental.

"I wasn't hitting the ball well all day, and I scrambled really well in the front nine, but my putter let me down in the back nine, so that's why I didn't finish as well as I wanted," he said. "I tripled the third hole, so it was tough from then on. ... I tried to grind it out after tripling that hole. I don't think we played as well as we could've, but it's not such a competitive tournament, so if there was one tournament I'd pick to play bad, this one would've been it."

Lee Bloom '10, who shot under par in the team's record-breaking round last week but tied for 13th place last Tuesday with a nine-over-par 80, said that the greens were very difficult to play on and praised Custato for his ability to manage them well. While the two sophomores paced the team at the top, the rest of the squad held its own as well as the Judges had four players shoot under 14-over-par 85.

"[Cusato] played very well, especially on the way the green were rolling, it's a great game," he said.

Coach Bill Shipman also said the greens were tough and that those conditions could have played a role in the team's performance.

"I think the greens bothered them a bit; it made putting pretty difficult," Shipman said. "It wasn't a terrible round, but we could have done better. It wasn't an important tourney, but we should have finished higher."

Looking ahead, the team will compete at the Duke Nelson Invitational in Middlebury, Vt. starting Saturday, a competitive 25-team tournament that includes foes such as New York University and Skidmore College.

"If we can get in there and do well in the next tourney, it would make the team very credible," Bloom said.

"All the best teams are there, so if we could break the top 10 or even top five, it would be a great finish," Shipman added.

The team continues to play well despite the seemingly inevitable fate it faces at the end of the season, as the University still plans to suspend the varsity golf program after this season.

"I think we're playing with something to prove, not because we're getting shut down but because we're a good team and we want to prove it," Cusato said.