Miami University's golf team will travel to Beallsville, Md. Monday and Tuesday to compete in the Georgetown Intercollegiate, its final tournament of the fall.
The 'Hawks have been improving statistically every tournament this fall, and after a two-week break, senior Mark MacDonald said the RedHawks are ready for a strong finish.
"[The Firestone Invitational] and this tournament can change your whole perspective on how the fall went," MacDonald said. "It's important for us to focus and finish strong."
The RedHawks enter the Georgetown Intercollegiate with a strong round of golf fresh in their minds. The RedHawks closed their most recent tournament, the Firestone Invitational, with a season-best four under par as a team in the third round, which allowed them to finish in seventh place in the 17-team field.
The RedHawks will compete in the Georgetown Intercollegiate exactly two weeks after their previous tournament, and junior Scott Cahill said he used his break from competition to fine-tune his game.
"I've been competing with the guys at home and staying relaxed, but staying polished at the same time," Cahill said.
MacDonald said he used his time to relax, and then focus on the tournament.
"I used the first part of the break to get my energy back and work on schoolwork, then I began to prepare for the tournament," MacDonald said.
The golfers that will compete in the tournament are sophomore Jack Sparling, junior Luke Shaughnessy, senior Austin Kelly, Cahill, and MacDonald, the same group that competed in the Firestone Invitational.
"We had a qualifying [amongst the team] for the final spot to travel; it gets you ready to play," head coach Zac Zedrick said.
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Cahill, MacDonald and Zedrick all agreed on one thing: the last tournament of the fall is very important.
"I think it's important to finish on a good note," Zedrick said. "We wanted our final two tournaments to be good. We need to trust our preparation."
The field of competition will include two teams in the Golf Weekly Top 100, No. 9 University of Alabama at Birmingham, and No. 80 University of Notre Dame.
The goal for the RedHawks at Georgetown is to string together three successful rounds of golf.
"If we can go to Georgetown and say on Tuesday afternoon that we played a full tournament, our finish will be irrelevant," Zedrick said.
The 'Hawks recent memory of the Firestone Invitational's third round may give them the inspiration they need to get the well-rounded tournament they are looking for.
"Everything came together in the last round at Akron," MacDonald said. "We have talent, and it's time to put it all together."
Cahill said if the RedHawks can play three solid rounds of golf, they will have no problem rising above the competition.
"Really, we need to look at the rounds each day, one at a time. We need to finish strong as a team," Cahill said. "If we put together three good rounds of golf, we'll be right toward the top."
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