Gomez leads La Verne past Whittier, 326-385
Campus Times
March 20, 1998
Led by sophomore Paul Gomez, the University of La Verne's golf team
defeated Whittier College by shooting 326 to Whittier's 385 at the course
of Friendly Hills in Whittier on Tuesday.
Gomez had the the lowest score between both schools with a total of
75 strokes.
"I was pleased of my performance but I am never satisfied, especially
since I know I could do better," said Gomez. "As a whole we played
and have been playing well. We are talented, but we have yet to play to
our full potential."
"He has matured a great deal from last year," said head coach
Rex Huigens. "He is definitely one of the top competitors in conference."
Other ULV team members who contributed to the victory were junior Steve
Lewis (82 strokes), sophomore Scott Garrison (83), and freshman Don Martin
(86).
Junior James Torpey also finished with 86 strokes and sophomore Jim
Brooks had 93.
Whittier College was led by junior Francis Pineda who ended the day
with 78 strokes. The rest of the Poets gave poor performances averaging
110 strokes.
"I did not have high expectation [against Whittier] because we
have been playing an awful lot of golf lately," said Huigens.
Last Thursday the Leopards suffered their first conference lost to Claremont
which advances their record to 3-1.
On Monday, the squad traveled to San Diego to play in the Point Loma
Invitational held at the Eastlake Country Club. Twelve colleges and universities
participated overall in an all-day, exhausting tournament.
"The entire trip and tournament itself took a lot out of the team.
We ended up shooting 36 holes in one day," said Huigens.
The team finished a disappointing ninth place.
Gomez, who finished with 76 strokes in the first round and 77 in the
second, said "we played well but at times we didn't."
Junior James Torpey did the best for the Leopards with 74 strokes in
the first round and 78 in the second. So did junior James Torpey as he had
the same number of strokes as Gomez.
"We are a little erratic and we need to be more consistent. We
still haven't played to how they should be playing," said Huigens.
Gomez said that the team is eager for the Southern California Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference finals.
"Even though we lost to Claremont, we can still win the title,"
Gomez said.
To determine a conference champion, the total number of strokes from
conference finals and the total number of strokes throughout the season
are compiled.
The Leopards play Monday at the Wood Ranch Country Club in another all-day
tournament.
