HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Villanova Men's Golf team travels to upstate New York this weekend for their first match of the fall season, taking part in the Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational hosted by Colgate University.
"It's always a fantastic opportunity to play against the best competition so being able to start out with that will give us a great foundation for the rest of the season," Junior transfer
Matt Zerfass remarked. "My time at Villanova has been short, however within that time I have been able to notice just how incredible every guy and Coach on this team is. I think the sky is the limit for the season ahead and it starts now!"
THE EVENT:
This tournament is taking place for the eighth time since it was renamed in memory of former Colgate golfer Alex Lagowitz in 2016.
This will be Villanova's fifth time participating in this event. Their best finish at this tournament was last year when they placed second overall behind Yale out of 13 teams at six-over, helped by
Peter Weaver finishing in third with a score of five-under. Returning juniors
Joshua Lavely and
Ryan Pamer also finished in the Top 10, tied for ninth place at two-over par. Pamer was the runner-up in this tournament in his first collegiate appearance as a freshman in 2022.
The field consists of 15 teams, including the Wildcats and the host team, Colgate. The other 13 include Binghamton, Bucknell, Canisius, Cornell, Iona, Le Moyne, Lehigh, Navy, Niagara, Penn, Seton Hall, St. Bonaventure, and Yale.
The tournament consists of 54 holes over three rounds with each team splitting into multiple groups of pairs. The first two rounds totaling 36 holes will take place on Saturday and the final round of 18 on Sunday.
Both days of the competition will begin at 9 a.m. on a shotgun start. Results of the tournament can be found
here.
THE COURSE:
Seven Oaks Golf Course, which serves as Colgate's home course, is located in Hamilton, N.Y.
It is a public, 18-hole course that was opened in 1965. It is 7,125 yards long with a par of 72. The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. during the 1930s. It has hosted the 1977 NCAA National Tournament, the central New York stop on the 1990 Ben Hogan Tour (now known as the Korn Ferry Tour), and the 2010 Patriot League Championship.
The course was ranked #8 on the list of Top Collegiate Golf Courses by NBC Sports GolfPass in January 2024.
THE LINEUP:
Villanova is sending six golfers up to Colgate who will take on the course in pairs.
Wildcats Pairings:
Vibhav Alokam and
Joshua Lavely,
Cameron Besaw and
Ryan Pamer, and
Nathan Marion and
Matt Zerfass
Alokam is one of two Wildcats who will be making their collegiate debut in this tournament. He was a two-time All-Conference honoree and was once named to the Michigan All-State team.
Lavely appeared in nine tournaments and had a 77.00 stroke average. His top finish during last season was at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational where he tied for ninth and had a season low round of 68.
Besaw, who hails from New Canaan, Conn., won both the Borck Junior Golf Tournament and the Carter Cup during his time before Villanova.
Pamer will be appearing in his third Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational, a tournament in which he finished tied for ninth in 2023 and as the runner-up in 2022. Last season he finished with a 72.38 stroke average and played in every round. Had six Top 10 finishes in 2023-24, including finishing third at the Nassau Intercollegiate. Pamer has finished within the Top 10 in all four tournaments he has played in the state of New York during his career.
Marion played in two tournaments last season, averaging a 75.50 stroke average with a season low of 72 in the third round of the Wildcat Spring Invitational. He also played in the Big 5 Invitational where he finished with a round at eight-over.
Zerfass comes to Villanova after two seasons at Saint Joseph's University. His best finish while there was in a tie for third place at the Cornell Invitational in September 2023. He recorded a 74.25 stroke average across seven starts in 2023-24 alongside three Top 25 finishes.
UP NEXT:
The 'Cats head back up to New York from Sept. 16-17 to play at The Doc Gimmler Red & Black, hosted by St. John's University. That tournament will take place in Farmingdale, N.Y., at Bethpage State Park Golf Course.
