The Wildcats faced yet another tough weekend of competition as they traveled to Leesburg, Va., to compete in the Georgetown Hoya Invitational. The tournament was held at the 6,718-yard Member’s Club at Four Streams. Sophomore Doug Stadler led the team after the first day of competition with a three-over-par 74, putting him in eighth place. Playing in an extremely close field, Villanova sat in 12th place, only 12 strokes behind leader William & Mary.

On Sunday, the team was forced to deal with more frustrations, as Stadler was the only Villanova player with a score under 80. Stadler finished in 24th place overall after shooting single day scores of 74 and 79 for a two-day score of 153 (+11). Senior co-captain Brock Bergman finished behind Stadler in 40th place with scores of 78 and 80 for a combined score of 158 (+16). Sophomores Bill Gropp and Paul Sjoberg tied for 54th place with scores of 163. The team remained in 12th place for the tournament, while host Georgetown finished with an extremely strong round of 297 to take William and Mary by one stroke for the title.

As the season comes to a close, temperatures continue to fall into less-than-favorable ranges, and balls become increasingly hard to find in the leaves. Fortunately, the team shouldn’t fear the weather too much, since its last tournament will take place in Winter Garden, Fla. However, there is still significant preparation to do before the Big East Challenge, in which Villanova will face many of the teams it has been able to challenge so far this season. For seniors Steve Arnold and Brock Bergman, it will be their last chance to test the mental strengths of their games and to prove themselves. The Big East Challenge will take place on Nov. 4-5.