LYCOMING GOLF Lycoming golf, first started in 1958 under the direction of Jack Phelan, was on its sixth coach in seven seasons in 2001 with a long-line of coaches not known for golf, including soccer coaches Rob Eaton (1991-95) and Jack Shafer (1999), wrestling coach Roger Crebs (1996), and football coaches Mike Silecchia (1997-98) and Mike Clark ’93 (2000). It was in 2001 when Spencer walked into Athletic Director Frank Girardi’s office and begged to be the head men’s golf coach. Spencer took the reins and led the team to a last-place finish in the MAC, but five years later, the Warriors finished second in the MAC Freedom behind conference runners-up Jordan Isenberg ’07 and James Bechtel ’06. He was the lead charge for 15 years, long enough to go from being the youngest coach in the conference to the longest-tenured. He coached a pair of MAC Scholar-Athletes (Bechtel, Drew Tompkins ’13) and six all-conference selections. “Those local kids were good golfers and great kids,” Spencer said of the second-place finish in 2005. In 2016, though, a change in structure at White Deer Golf Course led to a career change and for the time being, Spencer needed to step away from Warrior golf. When he returned as head coach in 2022-23, he came back to a team playing on a new home course, Williamsport Country Club. “To be totally honest, we would play a couple tournaments and a couple duals, and if we won dual, it was a successful season. That was the feel for it. We would do our best and have a memorable experience. We’ve shifted gears — in my early years, if I had one guy shoot in the 70s, he was the man. Now I have six guys who can do it, and do it on tough courses in tournaments.” His first recruit to come in the second tenure, Will Eberz ’27, started to mark a sea change. By last season, the Warriors were competing in 15 rounds a season, a far cry from Spencer’s third year, when the team played in five. Once again, Spencer was in the midst of a renaissance for the program. Eberz earned First Team All-Landmark Conference honors in 2025, and then Spencer helped claim perhaps the best recruiting class in the history of the program with the addition of Tre Lesperance ’29, Hill Meserve ’29, and Ryan Ault ’29. The team enjoyed an eyeopening fall, capping it when Connor Shanahan ’27 teamed with Lesperance, Meserve, and Eberz to set a program record with a round of 304 on the second day of the DeSales Fall Invitational. Lesperance shot a 72, the first even par round for a Warrior golfer on record that day. “Will is driven and a great player and captain,” Spencer said. “He had a great first year, and his sophomore year was off the charts. He did so much for us behind the scenes, too. We brought in a really good class, and Will was the closer with all of them.” Eberz also set up a meeting with new President Chip Edmonds that led to the first on-campus home for the golf team, complete with a golf simulator and a putting and chipping mat in the lower level of Clarke Chapel. The team raised more than $75,000 for the space. Lockers are also planned to be added as the renovation of the old rehearsal space is revamped. For Spencer and the Warriors, thanks to their new facility and young talent, the fun may just be beginning. By Joe Guistina 19 www.lycoming.edu
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTA3NDk=