You may not know what Roger Williams University’s golf team’s season looks like, but the team has been hard at work to make it a successful one.

During the first week of school, the team begins their fall season scattered with tournaments, including the CCC qualifiers. The catch about the qualifiers being in the fall is that the team doesn’t see another conference match until the following spring.

Men’s golf practically plays year round with a season of tournaments in the fall and conference play in the spring, and a winter filled with off-season preparation for what is to come in the spring.

The team plays the CCC qualifiers Thursday, Sept. 16 at Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and must place top four out of the eight teams to secure a spot in spring conference play.

Captain of the Men’s Golf Team, Ben DeFelice has been competitively playing golf since the age of 12 but truly began his introduction to the sport at the age of seven or eight.

“There was a circuit called the challenge cup and it was a tournament circuit where you span from everywhere in New England,” DeFelice said. “It helped me learn how to deal with things under pressure and I mean if I didn’t ever do that I mean I wouldn’t be in the position I am today.”

DeFelice expressed optimistic feelings in the air coming from the team about this upcoming season and the support the players have for one another.

The team has a few new players coming in this year, but DeFelice and the other returners have been working to encourage their peers and boost their confidence going into this week.

He explained the team culture as a mission of brotherhood where they work together on and off the field.

As a freshman, DeFelice was taken under the wings of some seniors who taught him the ropes of the game at Roger Williams University. His wish is to pass along the support and knowledge they gave him to the younger players on the team now.

“I was so grateful to be able to have those guys and the least I could do is to extend the favor,” said DeFelice.

The head coach of men’s golf is Ed Kirby, who is returning for his fourth year coaching here.

“We couldn’t have a better coach in New England,” said DeFelice. “He’s been at the highest level of our game and he’s played in the PGA tour and the biggest tournaments in the world.”

The coach works with the players to emulate that feeling and prepare them for the matches based on his extensive experience. DeFelice expresses the significance of this by explaining there is a difference between playing a leisurely game with your friends on the weekend versus playing at the tournament level and being under pressure in the moment.

The golf team is going into this Thursday with a positive mindset, prepared to give their all and return with a spring season full of CCC matches and the chance to compete at the national level.