SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - The Williams College men's golf team tied for first place with Amherst College in the Little Three Championship event held at Orchards Golf Club on Tuesday. Both Williams and Amherst beat Wesleyan University by a score of 10-2, and the final score between the Ephs and the Mammoths was 6-6.
The format of the tournament featured 36 holes of golf, where the first round was four teammate pairs with alternating shots, and the second round was eight individual competitions. The Ephs dominated in the team format, with all four pairs beating Amherst and Wesleyan, and in individual match play, Alex Moller and Will Rich won their matches, but Amherst won the other six, giving the final 6-6 score.
The teams started off a little late on Tuesday morning due to a frost warning on the course, but once play started, the Ephs were in good shape immediately, jumping ahead of both Amherst and Wesleyan on the first few holes in most of the groups. Hunter Justice and Owen Nielson were dominant, winning enough early holes to be 7 up with 6 holes to play against both Amherst and Wesleyan, and ending the round early.
Owen Barber and Aydin Aly Ajani were also in fine form, beating Amherst 4&3 and Wesleyan 6&5, and Moller and Rich combined to beat Wesleyan comfortably and finish 2&1 over Amherst. The final match to finish was Nick Smith and Jack Estrella, who were way up on Wesleyan but finished 18 with a one-hole advantage over Amherst.
The individual play saw Amherst storm back for the tie, but Moller and Rich continued playing well enough to beat the Mammoths, both finishing two up on their opponents. Estrella, Smith, Rich, Justice and Ajani were also victorious over Wesleyan in their individual matches.
The Ephs will use Tuesday to tune up for the NESCAC Championship, which will be held this weekend in Connecticut, hosted by Trinity College.
