The Saint Anselm men’s golf team finished up their fall season this past weekend at the Post Eagles Invitational. 

The Hawks season started on September 12 and wrapped up on October 11. The team really packed a lot of play into that month, competing in five tournaments during their fall season. 

The Hawks finished 5th/9 in the Granite State Opener, 11th/16 in the FPU Men’s Fall Invitational, 8th/15 in the Penman Invitational, 7th/11 at the NE-10 Championship, and 11th/14 in the Post Eagles Invitational.

The captains of the team are senior Drew Semons, senior Lucas Dascoli, senior Jack Mang, and junior Robbie Forti. 

This Hawks team features a great deal of talent but also a lot of youth. The Hawks have a roster of 12 student-athletes, five of which are freshmen. This younger group has a lot of potential and promise for future seasons to come. 

Even though the junior and senior experience is slim for the Hawks, the team has great leadership. And a young team only makes the veteran players that much more impactful. 

“Being a senior captain, leadership is key. I take pride in being the ‘older’ guy on the team and being able to be that mentor for the younger group we have. Leadership is essential in golf because you are certain to have bad days on the course. I remember being the young one, and when an older member of the team would give me a few words of inspiration, it would help a lot more than one would think. I now have that role, and picking up my teammates is very important to me because you can’t shoot lights out every round,” said Semons.  

Semons, Dascoli, Forti, and sophomore Michael Papamechail have been the ‘big four’ for the  Hawks, each playing in all 12 rounds of golf during the season. And these four all averaged under 80 strokes for each round of golf played (18 holes). Semons lead the way for the Hawks this season, averaging an impressive 74.3 strokes per round.  

Freshman Anthony Picano has also put in solid work this season, playing in 10 rounds and averaging 81.8 strokes. Freshmen Connor Powers and Finnegan Sharpe have also played two rounds each this season. 

The Hawks worked incredibly hard this fall, but the team knows they can fine tune their play to come back even stronger for the spring season. Golf is one of the most mentally challenging sports in the world. Golf requires incredible amounts of focus, consistency, a clear mind, confidence and fundamentally sound technique.

“The most important thing for us as a team is to stay focussed and take it one hole at a time. We did not play as well as we would have liked in the fall, so it is important to keep the right mentality heading into the spring and leave what’s in the past in the past,” said Dascoli. 

“The hardest part about golf is the mental aspect. Golf is one of the most mentally challenging sports there is, and it is a constant battle between you and that little white ball out on the course. A famous quote is that, ‘golf is played between both ears,’ which would signify that a lot of the game is in your head. All of us know that we have the talent to do great things out there, but if you make a mistake, it’s all about focusing on that next shot so you can make a recovery,” said Semons. 

The Hawks are a mentally strong group – always building each other up and keeping a positive attitude throughout the season. The team can’t wait for the spring season to get under way. The Hawks certainly hold themselves to a very high standard, and they have big expectations for the spring.  

“As our fall season wasn’t what we were shooting for, there’s still another season in the spring. Our main goal is to win our home tournament at Candia Woods. Qualifying for the NCAA Regionals is also a priority for us, and winning that tournament would mean a lot to us as a team and also our coach,” said Dascoli.