The Allegheny men’s golf season is in full swing, and after narrowly missing first place in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference final last year by one stroke, they look forward to the upcoming season and what it could hold for the program.
Led by 39th year head coach Jeff Groff, the Gators have a full roster of 14 with three seniors. Despite being made up of mostly underclassmen, the team has plenty of experience on the course. Leading the Gators are four juniors, Carter Hassenplug, ’25, Faaris Cheema, ’25, Zach Melzar, ’25, and Bergas Anargya, ’25.
The season began on Saturday, Sept. 2 at the Ted Barclay Invitational. The Gators placed fourth with a two-round total of 601, five strokes behind Otterbein University. Melzar led the Gators with a score of 4-over par and totaled a 148 on the card, with Cheema and Hassenplug trailing by two, each shooting 6-over at 150. Both Melzar and Hassenplug recorded a 73 during the first round, good for 1-over par.
Looking ahead, the Gators have a long schedule stretching deep into the spring of 2024. This provides ample time to prepare for the upcoming tournaments, but Groff takes it one step at a time.
“We take it, not just day-by-day, week-by-week, but match-by-match,” Groff said. “Try to take it one at a time. That’s an old sports saying but it’s very true.”
This training has harbored success, with two Gators earning spots on the PING All-Region 3 team last year in Hassenplug and Anargya. Hassenplug was also named a PAC Championship medalist and Player of the Year, scoring the lowest total for the conference tournament with a 291 over four rounds. He ended his sophomore season with an average of 74.05 over 18.5 rounds, ranking fourth in Gators history. Standout performances at The Gauntlet and The Ruckus tournaments showcased Hassenplug’s play, scoring one-under at The Gauntlet with a 143 and going even at The Ruckus with a 144.
For this season, Hassenplug remains in stride, showing out at this past weekend’s The Gauntlet, shooting 5-under par over two rounds and tying for the second best score of the weekend. During his first round, Hassenplug recorded zero bogeys, a personal achievement few can claim.
The Gators as a team tied for sixth out of 14 teams in The Gauntlet, three spots better than where they were a season ago. Zach Melzar shot a 5-over par 149, while Faaris Cheema and Connor Bell each shot a 6-over 150. Anargya went 14-over with a 158.
Each individual’s score is important for where the team finishes. All institutions bring five athletes to a tournament to represent their respective college, and the two-round scores from each athlete are combined and used to rank the teams. The team with the overall lowest score ranks first, while the highest ranks last.
The only tournament that is different is the PAC Championship, with two rounds taking place in the fall season and two rounds during the spring.
The core group to represent Allegheny has consisted of Hassenplug, Melzar, Cheema, and Anargya since their freshman year, each player holding their own respected successes and achievements. These four travel to each tournament, and Hassenplug emphasizes this group’s importance to a successful year.
“Those four people need to be able to play golf well at the same time,” Hassenplug said. “Getting everybody on their game at the same time is the overarching goal.”
Anargya expressed his sentiment towards the state of the team, and is confident for the future of Allegheny golf.
“Our team has never been stronger,” Anargya said. “I think this is our best shot at winning conferences this year. It’s shown right in the first two tournaments where we won two PAC Players of week.”
In the first tournament of the season, the Ted Barclays Invitational, Melzar was awarded PAC Player of the week. After The Gauntlet this past weekend, Hassenplug was awarded the same honors.
The juniors started their collegiate athletic careers in the North Coast Athletic Conference, which had several nationally-ranked teams. However, the competition in the PAC is incredibly close, with the Gators inching closer to the top.
“It’s shown from conferences last year,” Anargya said. “The top three are separated by three shots. The competition in the PAC is much tighter than the NCAC.”
Twelve of the 13 conference championships that men’s golf holds are in the PAC, from before the college entered the NCAC in 1984; the last conference championship won in the NCAC was under in 2006. The Gators were named the PAC coach’s pick this year in preseason polling, meaning they are the favorite to take the PAC championship this season.
The Gators host the Guy & Jeanne Kuhn Invitational at the Country Club of Meadville on Sept. 24 and Sept. 25.
