WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. -- The Williams College men’s golf team will be teeing it up in their inaugural event this weekend at the Duke Nelson Invitational at Middlebury’s Ralph Myhre Golf Course with high hopes for the season ahead.

The team’s optimism for the fall stems largely from the return of strong upperclassmen leaders as well as promising freshmen. The Ephs will be led this year by a trio of seniors. Third-year captain Sam Goldenring returns to campus after a summer playing in elite-level amateur events including the prestigious U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst. Last May playing at the NCAA Championship, Goldenring became the first Eph to win the NCAA individual championship when he shot three-under par through his four rounds. Ben Beiers will co-captain alongside Goldenring. Further, former All-NESCAC honoree Will Kannegieser returns to the team after not playing his junior year.

In addition to the three seniors, the team will be returning three of its four total juniors. Beau David, who was named to the 2019 All-NESCAC Second Team, will look to build on his strong play from the previous year. Wyatt Khosrowshahi and Tucker Van Eck will look to build on the strides they made last spring to play important roles in the lineup this year as well. William Conyers will be spending his junior year studying and playing golf at Oxford University.

Also expected to make significant contributions this season are the squad’s four sophomores. David Brewer and Jimmy Delano worked their way into the starting lineup their freshman year and will try to build on that momentum. In addition to Brewer and Delano, sophomores John Menton and Thomas VanBelle are expected to play an important role in the team’s success. The team is rounded out by freshmen Ryan Savarie and Jay Callahan who will be looking to make an immediate impact on their new team.

Eph head coach Josh Hillman had this to say about the year upcoming: “We had a very solid team last year and I feel we have only grown stronger over the summer. Everyone worked hard during the offseason and I am excited to see what this group will accomplish this fall. We are very deep this year, meaning that at any point someone can step into the line-up and deliver. If we continue to push each other, this could be one of the best teams Williams has ever seen.”

Captain Ben Beiers had this to say as well: “I think this is our year. We’ve got a really talented group of guys who push each other to get better every day, while having a ton of fun.”