Hopes were high after Temple’s Cherry team took fourth place at the Temple Invitational on Sept. 22 to kick off its 2024 fall season on the right note. But a string of underwhelming finishes throughout October have the Owls going back to the drawing board as they prepare for what they hope to be a more consistent spring season.
The Owls went on to finish 7th out of 15 in the Ironwood Classic at East Carolina on Oct. 1, 13th out of 18 at the Elon Phoenix Invitational in Burlington, North Carolina on Oct. 15 and fourth out of six in the Big 5 Tournament in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania on Oct. 24.
Now, the Owls will prepare for an almost four-month break when they resume play on Feb. 17 at the Wexford Invitational in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
“I was really disappointed honestly,” said head coach Brian Quinn about his team’s fall performance. “Ethan [Whitney] played pretty solid but outside of that everyone was a little flat. No one played awful, but I know our upside is a lot higher than what we’ve shown.”
While the results may seem underwhelming, the Owls have shown potential through their fall schedule. They have yet to place in the top half of the leaderboard during the season but strong individual performances, especially from Whitney, have given the team hope as they prepare for the spring.
Whitney has been the driving force for a team trying to find its groove. The senior tied Temple’s single-round record at the Ironwood Collegiate Classic with a seven-under par. His performance helped propel the Owls to break a single-round record of their own shooting 14-under par.
“It was a great day; everything just went right and I didn’t make any mistakes,” Whitney said about his Ironwood Classic performance. “We played well as a team and broke the single-round scoring record. I was more happy about that than my individual win because I try to be a leader on the team.”
Whitney has been the team’s focal point since his arrival on North Broad in 2021. He has become Temple’s best player during his four-year career, being the first Owl to be named to the all-conference team since 2016 when he was named to the All-American Athletic Conference second team in 2023.
This year, Whitney has continued the play that has been expected of him since the beginning of his career. He leads the team with four rounds under par, but despite the lopsided stats, Whitney hasn’t been the team’s only bright spot.
Temple has newfound depth to help them compete once spring rolls around. Whitney is joined by Aidan Emmerich and Michael Walsh, who have been the top scorers for Temple alongside Whitney. Emmerich led the team during the Temple Invitational on Sept. 21 and 22.
“We have some depth that we haven’t had in previous years,” Whitney said. “We can have four guys shooting good scores and competing at a high level. I know we have the capability and firepower to win a tournament.”
Whitney and Emmerich finished tied for 12th to lead the Cherry team to fourth overall at the Temple Invitational to open the Owls’ season. The White team, led by Brett McGrath and Matthew Vital who both shot an even-par 72, finished fifth at the event.
It was Walsh who stole the show the following week with a three-under-par 69 at the Ironwood Classic to help continue the uphill climb for Temple.
Whitney followed up Walsh’s afternoon with his record-breaking performance, but Temple still finished in the middle of the pack. The Owls ended the weekend seventh out of 15 teams but five athletes shot par or better, showcasing the team’s potential to improve in tournaments.
Senior Joey Morganti was another standout performer in North Carolina, matching Whitney’s seven birdies to post a two-under-par round of 69. Morganti earned his first collegiate victory at the Big 5 Championship last season when he shot a career-best five-under round and became the first Owl to win a tournament since Whitney in 2022.
The Owls had their weakest performance of the season the following week at the Elon Phoenix Invitational, finishing 13th out of 18 teams.
Whitney once again carried the weight for the rest of the team with a one-under-par 70. Walsh, who transferred from Lafayette last season, was the team’s second-best finisher but shot four-over par and finished tied for 32nd on the day. The duo were the only players to be in the top 35 and just three Owls made the top 100 cut.
Whitney and Walsh both had top 10 finishes at the Big 5 Invitational while Emmerich, Morganti and Jake Naese placed in the top 20. Despite the efforts, the Owls were unable to get over the hump.
The Owls’ attention now shifts to fixing their mistakes during the almost four-month break before they resume play in February. They will play in six tournaments before the American Athletic Conference tournament concludes their season on April 20, 2025.
“If we can just keep the ball in front of us and keep doing the right thing, I think we’ll do well,” Emmerich said. “We’ve got a really solid top four guys.”
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