Alex Abate '09 led the Big Green with a strong showing during Saturday's rain-shortened opening day, which tied him for fifth place with a one-under-par 71.
Three rounds of competition had been scheduled to take place this weekend at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course. With the uncooperative weather, however, officials shortened play to just a single round, as rain fell throughout the day on Saturday and all morning Sunday.
"We were supposed play 36 holes Saturday, but we stopped after 18 because the course couldn't hold any more water," Abate said. "Sunday, only [Teddy] Overton '12 teed off before the horn sounded, and after we waited for two hours the Cornell coach canceled the final round due to course conditions."
Abate's score was good enough to earn him a tie for fifth place among the 84 golfers competing and was just four strokes behind the leader. Dan Abbondandolo of Siena, last year's tournament champion, successfully defended his title with a five-under-par effort in the opening round.
Abate, a senior from Augusta, Ga., flourished during Saturday's round, playing particularly well on the course's lengthier holes, recording birdies on three of the four par-five holes.
For the round, Alex Abate accumulated six birdies -- the second highest tally among the competitors for the day.
"It's nice to be playing well again," Abate said. "I shattered my leg in a golf cart accident last year and missed the whole season."
Finishing ahead of Abate were Delaware's Stephen Scialo, who shot a 69, followed by Brendan Doyle of Columbia and Robert Cronheim of Cornell, who tied for third place with a score of 70.
Delaware finished the tournament with a one-under-par 287 to win the team title, anchored by two golfers who finished in the top five. Sienna, paced by Abbondandolo's play, was the runner-up at an even-par 288.
Rounding out the top five were Columbia with a 290 team score, followed by fourth-place Dartmouth with a combined score of 296. Cornell and Central Connecticut State tied for fifth with a score of 297.
"It's great to see how much the team has improved since freshmen year," Abate said. "Instead of trying to break 300, now we're trying to break par."
Overall, the tournament's single round saw steady play from many of the competitors, as 10 of the 15 teams shot under 300.
Abate commented that finishing right behind Columbia, while beating the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell and Princeton meant that Dartmouth could perhaps regain some respect in the Ivy League.
Dartmouth's Pete Williamson '12, a Hanover native, finished tied for 10th place with an even-par score of 72.
Williamson displayed a distinct strength in the course's 10 par-four holes, where he was one-under-par for the day. This represented the second-best scoring average of the afternoon, with only champion Abbondandolo scoring lower.
In addition to Abate and Williamson, three other Big Green golfers competed in Ithaca this weekend.
Davis Mullany '11 finished the tournament tied for 29th place with a three-over-par 75, while Dave Putney '10 finished with a six-over-par 78.
Overton struggled throughout the day, ultimately finishing with a 10-over-par 82.
"Dave Putney and Teddy Overton really struggled on the greens," Abate said. "We're looking forward to them shooting better rounds in the future."
Abate secured his spot in this weekend's lineup with a strong showing last week at the Hanover Invitational, where he finished tied for fourth place while playing as an independent golfer. His scores, therefore, then did not count toward the Dartmouth team score.
This weekend the Dartmouth men's golf team travels to the Yale Invitational in New Haven, Conn., where the Big Green hopes to welcome back captain Rob Henley '09 to the lineup.
