Lions Golf Defeats Berks in Season Opener
STEVENS, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's golf team got its spring 2021 season off to a good start on Monday afternoon, when the Lions defeated non-conference opponent Penn State Berks 336-357 in a dual match at Foxchase Golf Club.
Monday's event marked the first time that the Penn State Altoona golf team hit the course to compete against an opponent since October 14, 2019, the second day of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championships. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of any spring activities in 2020, and the Lions' normal fall 2020 season was postponed to this spring.
"It was a gusty, tough day with 30 mile-per-hour wind gusts," said Penn State Altoona head coach Tom Koehle. "But just being out was a great feeling for me and the team after working through the last 12 months."
Trey Heffelfinger (Mount Union, PA/Mount Union), competing in his first collegiate event, led all 12 individual golfers on the day by firing a 79. Jimmy Gillespie (Glen Mills, PA/Garnet Valley) was second on the team and third overall with an 83.
"I'm very proud of Trey for shooting a very good score on a tough day on a course he has never played before," said Koehle. "Jimmy showed his senior leadership, coming back with a good back nine score after struggling on the front, to help improve the team score."
Luke Hoffnagle (York, PA/Spring Grove) and Andrew Ferguson (Altoona, PA/Tyrone) each carded an 87 for Penn State Altoona. Jacob Mrvos (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) rounded out the Lions' starting five with a 98.
Gaige Orndoff (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) and Ryan Marshall (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) competed as individuals for Penn State Altoona, with Orndoff shooting 85 and Marshall finishing with 88.
Penn State Altoona men's golf returns to action this Saturday, April 3, when the Lions will head to Whispering Woods Golf Club in Erie to compete in the Penn State Behrend Invitational. The event is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m.
