WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Sophomore Nick Smith led the Williams College men's golf team to sixth place at the end of the first two rounds of the Williamstown Fall Invitational by carding a 74-73—147 (+5). The Ephs completed the day 22-over par with a team score of 590, 16 strokes off the pace set by Trinity, which holds a nine-stroke lead over Pomona-Pitzer.
Although Smith had the low score for Williams over 36 holes on the 6,808-yard, par-71 course at Taconic Golf Club, but it was senior Owen Nielsen who paced the squad in the morning round with a 2-over 73 thanks to a quartet of birdies (consecutively on the eighth and ninth holes and again on 17 and 18) and 10 pars.
Smith was right on his heels at 3-over par as he also sank four birdies, while senior Alex Moller produced a dozen pars and one birdie to start the day at 4-over. First-year Charles Nevin nearly matched Moller with one birdie and 11 pars as he completed the Ephs' scoring with a 76 (+5).
There was no rest for the weary as the 17 teams went right back to work in the afternoon for a second 18. Smith had one of the most consistent rounds of the day for any golfer as he drained 16 pars to shoot 2-over. But he was bested by a pair of his teammates who came into the clubhouse with a 72 (+1): sophomore Owen Barber and Nevin.
Barber started his 18 with 10 pars and a birdie before falling back to 1-over, while Nevin was 4-over after 14 holes before drilling three birdies on three of his last four holes. Moller rounded out the scoring for Williams at 4-over par with a bit of a wild round that featured an eagle, four birdies and five pars.
"We fought hard and played well," said Williams Head Coach Josh Hillman, "with a few mistakes here and there, but overall it was a solid day. We are getting better on the course every day."
With his 147, Smith enters the final round tied for 22nd, six strokes behind a trio of entrants at 1-under par: Trinity's Julian Ragosa, Amherst's Andre Zhang and Middlebury's Tucker Gongaware. Nevin is one stroke behind Smith in a tie for 26th, Barber is tied for 30th just another stroke back and Moller tied for 32nd at 8-over.
The tournament will conclude with the third and final round on Sunday, teeing off with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.
