After back-to-back United East championships and trips to the NCAA Division III Championships the last two springs, Pennsylvania College of Technology men’s golf coach Rob Lytle knows the importance of fall-season preparation.

“This is the most aggressive fall tournament schedule Penn College has ever seen. The only thing it’s going to do is make us better. I want our guys out there playing against the best of the best. That’s the only way we’re going to get better,” the third-year coach said. “The fall season will help us set the stage for the spring and another run at the conference championship.”

Of the team’s eight scheduled fall outings, five are two-day events.

Penn College opens its season Friday and Saturday in the Mountain Valley Collegiate Classic, where it finished third of 15 teams a year ago, with Peyton Mussina of Montoursville claiming medalist honors on rounds of 70 and 73.

Now a senior, Mussina again leads the team, which also returns starters senior Will Orwig of Mifflintown andjunior Gunner Redmond of Lock Haven, along with sophomores Brady Handy of Cassville, Logan Gawlinski of Kittanning and Brett Keenan of Lafayette Hill, and junior Brandon Vaughn of Chambersburg.

“A pleasant surprise has been junior Jordan Lestochi of Altoona,” Lytle said. “This will be Jordan’s first year playing collegiate golf and he looks to fit right in with the team, breaking into the starting lineup for the first tournament.

“Our incoming freshmen are talented as well. Matthew Capoferri of Oreland will be playing in his first collegiate tournament for our first event, and rounding out the freshman class are Joel Toburen of Boyertown, Matthew Mesaris of Pittston and Colin Hamm of Kutztown. 

“We will need to play hard as a team to have success this fall. Every year, our goal is to win the United East Conference championship. This team as a whole has been working hard to achieve that goal.

“It’s going to be an exciting fall. We probably won’t play that many tournaments in the spring, but we will be ready to go for the spring.”

Schedule

Friday, Sept. 6 — Mountain Valley Classic Day One at Sinking Valley Country Club, Altoona, 9:30 a.m.

Saturday, Sept. 7 — Mountain Valley Classic Day Two at Summit Country Club, Cresson, 9:30 a.m.

Monday, Sept. 9 — Albright College Fall Invitational at Olde Homestead Golf Club, 10:30 a.m.

Sunday-Monday, Sept. 15-16 — The Gauntlet at Bucknell Golf Club, 9 a.m.

For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website. For more about the United East, visit the conference website.