The men’s golf team took part in the California State Intercollegiate tournament hosted by the University of La Verne on Sept. 22 and 23 for their second tournament of the year. The season started with a last place finish in the Firestorm 2014 Fall Invitational. Junior Kevin VandeKamp remained hopeful despite the shaky opening.

“Our season didn’t get off to a sparkling start, but we know this team has a lot of young talent and potential.” VandeKamp said.

A few Eagles showed signs of improvement in the recent tournament, but it was not enough to keep them out of last place. VandeKamp had encouraging words to say.

“Results won’t come overnight, but if we are constantly working to get better, they will come with time,” VandeKamp said.

If the Eagles have anything, it is time. The team is made up of juniors, sophomores, and freshmen, so they will have a whole season to grow and improve together.

The Eagles opened the tournament with a 304 stroke round, an improvement from the 311 score they started with at the Firestone Invitational. Unfortunately, they followed it up by scoring 316 the next round, then their rally in the third and final round fell short. The men posted a 310 stroke score in the final round, leaving them at +66 for the tournament, 10 shots behind 11th place out of a field of 12.

The California State University of San Marcos took home first place with a team finish of -18 under par, 21 shots ahead of second place. Juniors Ryan Odom and Dylan Healey put up -7 and -5 under par respectively, giving them the two best scores of the tournament.

Freshman Cameron Bauer and Junior William Langworthy were the top scorers for Biola, each posting +15 over par.

The team is young, the season is young, holding hope for the future. Last season proved to be a tough one. A coaching change resulted in the Eagles playing some tournaments down a man. Head coach Hank Woodrome’s recruiting this year brought on four freshmen with bright prospects.

The Eagles’ next tournament takes them to Prescott, Arizona on Sept. 28 and 29 for the Embry-Riddle Co-ed Invitational. Coach Woodrome aims for his team to shoot a 300 stroke round. Hopefully they can build off recent players’ improvements. Notably, sophomore Joel Smith’s 13 stroke improvement from the first tournament’s two rounds and the first two rounds of the most recent tournament.

Success is rarely instantaneous and improvement never comes without work. The Eagles will continue to strive to greater things despite a rough beginning.