The UConn golf team opens up its fall schedule this weekend with the McLaughlin Invite at the Bethpage Red Course in Farmingdale, NY. The invite will take place on Friday and Saturday and includes 17 teams, including the host, St. John's University.
Coach Pezzino, in his third year at the helm of the UConn golf program, has high hopes going into the McLaughlin Invite.
"We have had good things going on. We played a qualifier going into this weekend so we feel like we have already played a tournament," said Pezzino. "The sky is the limit for this group."
Pezzino has selected two captains to lead the Huskies this season: senior Kyle O'Connor and junior Matt Dubrowski.
The Huskies are planning to send six golfers to compete in the McLaughlin Invite, five playing as a team and one as an individual. The team golfers one through five are sophomore Jeb Buchanan, sophomore Matt Dziubina, senior captain Kyle O'Connor, junior captain Matt Dubrowski and sophomore Matt Carroll. The golfer playing as an individual is junior Chris DeLucia.
Despite being a relatively young group, they have a good amount of tournament experience. O'Connor won the Norwich Invite with a score of 64. Dziubina and Carroll made it to the semi-finals in the same tournament. Buchanan placed in the top ten in the New York State Amateur. Dubrowski made it through stroke play to the round of 16 match play in this year's Met Amateur. UConn looks to use that tournament experience to gain a successful finish at the McLaughlin Invite.
With seven of the 11 golfers on the team being freshmen or sophomores, one might think there would be a lack of leadership.
"There are really no questions whatsoever with leadership," said Pezzino. "Golf is a different sport. You don't really need to get on everyone. Our team practices really hard at practice and on their own."
The McLaughlin Invite marks the beginning of a five-tournament schedule leading to Big East Match Play. Those five tournaments include the Adams Cup, hosted by URI at Newport National from Sept. 21-22, the McDonald Cup, hosted by Yale at Yale Golf Course from Oct. 3-4, the NEIGA Championship at The Captain's Course in Brewster, Mass. from Oct. 19-20 and most importantly the Connecticut Cup, hosted by the Huskies at Ellington Ridge Country Club from Oct. 12-13.
Coach Pezzino made it very clear that he wanted the fellow Husky students to know that the golf team was hosting their own tournament this year.
"We would like to get as many Husky fans as possible to show up at this tournament," said Pezzino.
Following the McLaughlin Invite, the next action the Huskies will see is at the Adams Cup at Newport National on Mon., Sept. 21 and Tues., Sept. 22.
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