This past weekend, on Sept. 16 and 17, Villanova’s men’s golf team headed north to compete at the Ryan T. Lee Memorial in Kensington, Connecticut. After day one, the ‘Cats finished in a tie for 11th place out of 17. By day two, Villanova ended eighth at the tournament.

“We knew we were going to be facing a lot of hard teams,” head coach James Wilkes said. “Columbia and Long Island played very well in the previous tournaments they had, so we knew we were going to have to put a lot of hard work into the weekend.”

After the first day, Senior Peter Weaver shot a score of 70 (-1), putting himself in a tie 7th place 

Alongside Weaver were sophomores Ryan Pamer and Joshua Lavely. Pamer tied for 63rd, finishing with a score of 78 (+7), while Lavely tied for 35th, and finished with a score of 74. 

PJ O’Rourke shot an 80, putting himself in a tie for 79th. Jonathan Elkins finished in a tie for 71st with a score of 79. 

“We were disappointed on our first day scores, but after talking as a team we knew we had to step up on day two, which we did,” Wilkes said. 

After finishing with higher scores than anticipated, the Wildcats looked for redemption in their day two scores and appearances.

During the second day of the match, the Wildcats regained their composure, and were able to get their rank up from 11th place to 8th. 

Weaver shot an impressive score of 67 (-4), placing himself in a tie for 3rd place overall. 

“Weaver came into Villanova as a solid player in high school,” Wilkes said. “After breaking records last season, we were unsure of how much he had left to bring. We were wrong, and it is clear that he is on a mission to achieve all that he can.” 

Pamer improved eight strokes from the prior day, shooting one under 70, and ending 42nd on the board. “We knew we needed to play better on Sunday, so we did,” Wilkes said. 

Lavely ended overall in a tie for 45th after shooting a 75 on Sunday. 

“It is so exciting seeing Pamer and Lavely having such an impact this early on in the season,” Wilkes said. “Pamer was Big East Freshman of the Year last season, and Lavely put a lot of work in over the summer. You can see the hard work and improvement from both of them.” 

O’Rourke had an impressive climb of nine strokes, placing himself at an even 71 par and climbing the ranks to a tie for 53rd place tie. Elkins, after having an impressive day one, shot a two over 73, ending in a tie for 60th, and improving from day one by six strokes. 

The Wildcats will now have a break in their preseason before heading to New York on Oct. 1 to partake in the Matthews Auto College tournament.

“Although we have not played at this course recently, we have a feeling this specific group will thrive at this course,” Wilkes said.