On Sept. 3 in Galena, Illinois, Clarke University hosted the annual “Clarke Fall Invite” at the Eagle Ridge South Course. This would be the first of seven events for the Viterbo men’s golf team in its fall season. In smooth fashion, the V-Hawks were able to secure the win, taking first place with a total score of 310, squeezing by Iowa Central who posted a total score of 313. This is now the second consecutive year the Viterbo V-Hawks have won the invitational. More impressively, the V-Hawks were able to secure this win with only two returning starters on the golf team.
At the tournament, first-year Justin Kaczynski was the top golfer for the V-Hawks and the entire tournament. Kaczynski fired a total score of 72 (which was even par) which secured him the individual title. Sophomore Ben Biskupski tied for second place in the tournament, placing with a score of 75. Junior Ethan Thomas came in with a score of 80, and the last score included for the V-Hawks was from junior Alex Samolinski, who came in with a score of 83.
Alex Samolinski is one of the captains as well as one of the few returners the golf team has. When asked how it felt to win the first invite of the year he stated “It felt really good and gave us a lot of confidence. Coming into the year we had no idea what to expect because we are basically a fully new team from last year.”
Since the win, the V-Hawks have continued a strong fall season including a third-place finish at “The Battle of Waterloo” and a second-place finish at the Viterbo Home Invitational held here locally Onalaska.
Even though winter and cold weather is right around the corner, this will not stop the V-Hawks from looking to continue their success in the spring. Samolinski states, “We plan to continue working on our games in our indoor facility. Along with getting in the weight room to keep ourselves in condition.”
The men’s golf team hopes to carry this success into the spring season, ultimately looking to make noise in the new conference, and showing why the V-Hawks should be feared.
