The Men’s Golf Team came into this season with hopes of rebuilding a faltering program. With the hiring of new head coach Robert Hippauf, and the return of seven letter winners, the team was in a much better situation than last year.

    In the '97-'98 season, the golf team was a very young and inexperienced group who didn’t manage to finish near the top in any of the tournaments in which they competed.

    However, rebuilding is not an overnight process. This year the Leopards golf team suffered through a tough fall season finishing in dead last during events held at Cornell, Bucknell, and Susquehanna.

    With a change in seasons, came a glimmer of hope. In their spring campaign, the team managed a second place finish at Rider and beat five teams at the Rutgers Invitational.

    In the match at Rider, Jon Platt '02 accomplished a feat never seen at Lafayette when he won the tournament with a round of 78. For Platt, it was this year’s highlight not only because of his personal achievement but also due to the team’s performance.

    The squad finished their season on April 21 at Lehigh where they lost to Lehigh and Muhlenberg but did defeat Moravian. Key contributors at Lehigh were Platt and Chris Belfiore '00.

    With the combination of this year's team returning all of its members next year and a year under the belt of Coach Hippauf, hopefully they will return in the fall ready to hit the lynx.

    Platt commented, “I am definitely looking forward to next year. Since it will be the coach’s second year, he will be able to handle things better and the best players on the team will all be back.”

    With experience on their side the team hopes they can move up next season.