DePaul Makes School History: Men’s Golf Team

Making History!

If you ask a student at the University of DePaul about their Men’s Golf Team, you would get a look of confusion. They would probably have no idea that the Men’s Golf team existed let alone that it was revving up for a win at the BigEast Championships. The team has been on a roll through out the season with only one hiccup along the way. Even though the Men’s Golf Team consistently placed in the top ten for every tournament until the beginning of March, it started at the University of South Florida Invitational (March 5-7). The team tied for 17^th place out of 23 teams. Afterwards however they were able to place in the top 5 for the following invitationals: C&F Bank Intercollegiate, BSU Cardinal Collegiate, and Adidas Hoosier Invitational. Unfortunately for the team, the DePaul student body was not even aware of any of this.

Then tragedy struck as the Blue Demons placed last in the Red Wolf Classic, the last invitational before the Championships. Even though they placed last, they still headed toward the Big East Championship with their heads held high. They were looking to make school history and gain student support.

Russell Budd

Michael Furci

Furci on course.

Greg Doherty

Making History!

Coach Betty Kaufmann

Charles Boucher

Ben Westley

The DePaul Men’s Golf team traveled this past week to Florida and was triumphant. They played in Palm Harbor for the Big East Championship, which started this past Sunday (4/18). With a little bit of a weather problem, the Blue Demons did not let the rain stop them. One main problem that the team faced, other than the weather, is the fact that the majority of the DePaul student population doesn’t know that the team is in Florida for the championships and had no support other than themselves and their coaches.

After day one DePaul sat in 9^th place out of 12. The leading man on the team was sophomore Michael Furci, with a career best score of 69.  Furci was tied for first place with Troy Spencer from Seton Hall. This was an amazing feat for DePaul’s golf they are currently ranked only 155^th for Division I schools across the nation. As a team they were having some difficulties across the board, but with the help of Furci the team was able to pick up some momentum through the tournament. The only notification that the team was doing well was on the DePaul’s athletic website, on the Men’s Golf Team page in a short article, how are they going to gain support if their success is not broadcasted?

Even though there were 304 students competing, Furci’s teammates also had a great round of play after the first day. Senior Greg Doherty tied for 40^th place. His teammate sophomore Ben Westley tied for 47^th place and junior Charles Boucher and freshman Russell Budd both tied for 52^nd place.

As the sun rose on the second day, the rain had finally cleared. The team was positive and excited for what was ahead of them. As they each finished their rounds on the course, Furci clinched 1^st place with no tie. Doherty and Westley tied for 41^st place, Budd tied for 55^th place, and Boucher sat at 59^th place. At the conclusion of the second round, the Blue Demons currently reside in 11^th overall.

Furci on course.

The third and last day of the competition arrived and Furci ended the tournament tied for 5^th place. This is a school best as no other DePaul Golfer has ever placed this high at the Big East Championship. The rest of the team remained in the previous placings.  At the end of the day the Blue demons placed 12^th overall. DePaul had made school history; history that the students should be excited and inspired about, but the majority of them don’t even know they have a golf team. There was no celebration on campus, or merriment with the team. The Men’s Golf Team had to celebrate with each other, a sad end of the competition when they just made history.

This seems to be the main message that is circulating around the DePaul campus: no student support. Although the team has been doing much better these days compared to the past, they could use more support from the student body.  This issue is very evident by the lack of a fan base at the invitational’s and the lack of knowledge about the team. The Men’s Golf Team made school history this past weekend and this should have been known and celebrated. Maybe next time the team will have the support that they should have had in the first place.

Article By Staff Writer:

 

Mel Lachapelle