John Doherty
SPORTS EDITOR


Sophomore golfer Connor Teno fired a 78 to open the Lancers OUA season with a ninth-place finish at the Western Invitational Thursday in St. Thomas, Ont.

Despite rainy conditions at the St. Thomas Golf Club, Teno carded the low round for the Lancers at the tournament.

“I felt really good going into the tournament,” Teno said. “We practiced a lot going into it and we felt really good as a team. It’s kind of a building year with us, but if we all click on the same days I know we can do really well.”

The Beach Grove Golf & Country Club golfer had the misfortune of spending his first nine holes in Thursday’s rainstorm, which hit St. Thomas literally the very moment Teno struck his tee into the ground on the first hole.

“It rained solidly– it poured– for nine holes. And the greens were aerated too, so that added on. It was tough conditions,” said Teno, who bogeyed his first three holes in the rain and struggled on the greens.

“But still I was really hitting it solidly.”

Unfortunately, Teno found his worst hole when the rain stopped on the back nine, where he triple bogeyed the Par 5 14th hole.

“Other than that, I felt really good,” said Teno, who this year finished fourth in his final turn at the Jamieson Junior Golf Tour and won the Erie Shores Golf & Country Club tournament by one stroke with a 68.

Of the other University of Windsor players on the men’s team, Mike Ayotte shot an 80, Scott Reid had an 82 and Jeff Dent carded an 85 at the tournament. The Lancers finished the day with a four-man 325 total.

On the women’s side, defending OUA individual champion Meaghan Pototschnik of Stratford, Ont., led the Lancers women with an 83. She finished tied in sixth place.

The host Western Mustangs won the tournament with a 298 total, beating Waterloo by seven strokes (305). Guelph finished third one stroke behind Waterloo (306).

The Lancers compete again Saturday and Sunday at the two-day Waterloo Invitational. The women play at Cambridge Golf Club and the men will play at Whistle Bear and Grey Silo golf courses.