Yeshiva University golf team co-captains Michael Finkelstein and Joshua Platt are eagerly anticipating another YU golfing season. Under the guidance and leadership of veteran golfer and Coach Allan Mittleman, the Yeshiva Macs are prepared for any obstacles they may face on their road to a winning season.
Golf team members spend hours at the driving range every week, practicing their swings and refining their fundamentals in preparation for match play. After surveying many potential players this spring, Coach Mittleman selected Michael Finkelstein, Joshua Platt, Jason Kollander, Barry Ness, Joshua Sisser, and Joshua Wilk to represent Yeshiva for the 2001 golf season.
Mittleman is highly confident about his team's abilities. He expects to emerge victorious from many of the upcoming matches. This semester is filled with many exciting matches against talented Division III schools. When asked about his expectations for this year's golf team, the coach responded, "I want to win, and we have a good shot at it with five guys who all shoot in the eighties."
When questioned about the keys to winning the upcoming matches, which will be played in wet course conditions, Mittleman shifted the emphasis to the mindset of Yeshiva golfers for the contests. "These matches will come down to the mental game," he claimed. "Club selection will be the key to winning."
Though only five golfers can compete in away matches, Coach Mittleman generally brings the entire golf team to play in home matches. He does this to refine the skills and tactics of the entire team. Mittleman sees home matches as a method of evaluating his golfers under actual course conditions, and this also gives everyone an opportunity to play at an elevated level.
This past Thursday, the Yeshiva Maccabes played their first match of the season at the Blue Hill Country Club of Pearl River, New York. The terrain was hardly at its peak condition, due to the preceding week of rain. At the one o'clock tee time, the temperature had dropped to a chilly forty degrees. The wind was blowing from every direction, and rain was beginning to fall. The wintry weather caused the golfers to feel stiffness in their hands as they gripped their irons and woods.
When Yeshiva started off slowly, their opponent, the Caldwell Cougars took advantage. Caldwell started out with an early lead, but the Macs were able to lodge a gradual comeback. The Macs started their run at the fourth hole; Jason Kollander was able to birdie and Michael Finkelstein was able to par the hole, whereas the two Caldwell golfers both double-bogeyed. The comeback was short-lived, however, as Caldwell pulled swiftly ahead by the completion of the front nine.
Throughout the back nine, the Macs gradually started to bridge the gap. Immediately following the turn, after shooting a forty, Finkelstein's level of play skyrocketed, with two birdies and two pars. Kollander also proceeded to exhibit a strong performance on the back nine with a bogey, par, and another par. The gap began to close ,and the Caldwell golfers began to falter with consecutive double bogeys. Unfortunately, Yeshiva's success dwindled, and Caldwell golfed consistently well throughout the remaining holes. Finkelstein kept the Macs in contention by scoring exceptionally well throughout the match.
At the close of a hard fought day by all YU Macs - Finkelstein, Kollander, Sisser, Wilk, and Levy - the team fell short of victory by a mere eight strokes. But, the performance left much room for optimism, as Yeshiva golfed without its top two players, captain Joshua Platt and Barry Ness, and still finished well.