After a six year title-drought, the Washington and Lee men’s golf team is once again the ODAC champion.

This victory marks the twelfth time in program history the Generals have taken the title.

Big performances by Todd Alan McDonald, ‘17, and Luke Farley, ‘18, helped lead the team to a first place finish. McDonald posted a 71 on the second day, which tied for the lowest scoring round of the tournament, and finished third overall out of the field of 50 golfers. Farley shot a nine over par for the tournament and was the tournament runner-up.

Farley’s second place finish was secured by consistent play, day in and day out, shooting a score of 72-76-77 for the tournament.

“[Farley] played good, solid golf every day of the tournament. That’s really what it takes to win these tournaments,” captain Conley Hurst, ‘17, said.

Hurst finished eleventh overall, posting scores of 75-82-75.

After recording some strong finishes this spring, the Generals were not too surprised to find themselves hoisting the trophy. A match play preview on April 3, held at the same course as ODACs, also gave the team a chance to feel out the course and see two of its conference competitors play it.

“We approached the tournament like we would any tournament,” Hurst said. “I’d say we were particularly confident going into ODACs. We knew the course and we knew our competition, we just had to play our game.”

In the highly mental game of golf, this confidence is key.

“There’s no one on our team who doesn’t have the ability to perform at a high level,” Hurst said. “When we have confidence in our own individual abilities, we perform our best. Getting a win under our belt is a validation of all of our hard work.”

As the tournament is scored through the cumulative scores of team members throughout the competition, it truly takes a team effort to accomplish what the Generals were able to.

From here on, the future looks bright for the young team. Of the team’s dozen players, only two are seniors and four are juniors. With such a young team and numerous standout performances coming from underclassmen this season (ODACs providing an excellent example), the possibility of another strong performance next season is far from out of the question.

“[Repeating next year] is the goal. This team is as good as it’s been in a long time, certainly since I’ve been here,” Hurst said.

With the ODAC trophy in hand, the Generals still have more work to do before their season comes to an end. The team will compete in the NCAA DIII Championship in Rochester, N.Y. on May 10. W&L comes into this competition ranked twenty-first nationally.