Despite the cancellation of the majority of team sports at Mercyhurst last year, one sport pushed through – golf. Unlike many other sports on campus, the members of the Mercyhurst Men and Women’s golf teams were able to continue to compete in the sport they love.

This year the Women’s team competed in five total tournaments and the Men’s team in six.

“This past season was definitely a fun one. We had some good additions to our team this year and had some guys improve their games over the summer,” said senior golfer Ryan Peters.

This year the Men’s golf team was also able to set a Mercyhurst program record for the lowest team scoring average for the fall season.

“I think as a team we are really happy with our progress this fall. We have taken a huge step from where we were at this time last year and had some guys really step up to give us a chance to win tournaments. We really feel as though we have a chance to win every time we step on the course,” said senior golfer, Jack Angelucci, “[It] is always fun getting your name in the history books.”

With an ever-growing roster of golfers for the Men’s team, all members are valuable and contributed to the team’s newest record.

“Guys like Jacobo Mancera, Danny Ames and Tyler Thomas really make the difference for us and give us the depth that is needed to have a chance to win. Having them takes some of the pressure off of Ryan Peters, Ryan Ferry and myself and I think that is why you saw them play so well this fall with Peters getting a win at the Hal Hansen and us winning as a team there,” said Angelucci, “We are really excited for this spring and feel like a National Championship appearance is definitely within striking distance.”

This year the Women’s team started the school year strong ranking 2nd out of 12 teams at the Charleston Invitational at the University of Charleston, SC. This invitational began on Sept. 13 and ran through Sept. 14. The Men’s team did not find as much luck as the Women’s team but still ranked in the top 10 out of 14 total teams managing to take 6th place.

The Lakers returned home the very next weekend to play in their next tournament, the Evann Parker Memorial, hosted by Mercyhurst University on Sept. 17- Sept. 18. This tournament took place at the Lakeview Country Club. Although the Lakers did not find as much success as they did at the Charleston Invitational, the Women’s team snagged 4th place out of 11 while the Men’s team displayed tremendous improvement from the last tournament and placed 3rd out of 11.

At Gannon University’s Howard “Bud” Elwell Fall Classic, both teams ranked in the top three with the women taking 3rd out of 12, and the men 2nd out of 10. The Women’s team then went on to play two more tournaments, the Findlay Invitational at the University of Findlay, OH, which took place on Oct. 3 through Oct. 5 and ending the season with the Tiffin Invitational at Tiffin University, OH, on Oct. 10 through Oct. 12.

At the Tiffin Invitational, the women placed then 4th out of 8 teams at the Tiffin Invitational.

“It was a good season for our team. We had good tournaments and we were able to learn something from every single one them. Personally I am proud of our team because we had really good rounds and we got closer to each other,” said sophomore golfer, Sofia Carrizosa.

The Men’s golf team went on to play two more tournaments as well at the Guy and Jeanne Kuhn Memorial, which was hosted at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA, and the Clarion Invitational hosted by Clarion University in Clarion, PA. Continually showing improvement in their season till the end, the men ranked 2nd out of 13 at the Guy and Jeanne Kuhn Memorial which took place on Sept. 26 and 27, and then at the Clarion Invitational, they ranked 1st out of 9 teams which took place on Oct. 2 through Oct. 4.

With all of the Men’s success in their Fall 2021 season, they got to continue their journey to the PSAC Championship Tournament on Oct. 15 through Oct. 17th. After three days of golf, the men took 3rd place out of 10 teams.

“I think our team’s ability to push and encourage one another to be the best played a key role in our success this season. After missing out on NCAA Regionals last spring, I’m proud of how our team bounced back. We’re going to work hard on our games this winter and come out ready to roll for the spring season,” said Peters.