The Mustangs just couldn’t stand the rain at the nationals.

The Western men’s golf team headed East to take part in the Canadian University/College Golf Championships held at Kingswood Park in New Brunswick at the beginning of June.

For fourth-year Mustang Andrew Zanatta, expectations were high going into the final tournament of his Western career.

“We have five really solid players,” he said. “I knew that if we all played well we would have a really good shot at contending in this championship.”

The Mustangs had a strong outing on the first day, third on the leader board with three golfers shooting one under par. However, heavy rain and tough playing conditions proved costly as Western slid down the board to tenth place overall with a combined score of +38.

“We had an early morning start and it rained until noon, and our scores showed it. We fell out of the top five. With the same rain and early morning start on day three, we fell back to tenth,” Jim Waite, Mustangs head coach, said. “This is a solid team and we were only a few shots out of sixth place.”

Zanatta and third-year social science student Johnny Hall led the way for the Mustangs finishing tied for 21st place, each shooting six over par.

“I played well throughout the week, but just made some simple mistakes that cost me a few shots.” Hall said.  “I was in contention after the first two rounds and being in contention is all you can ask for.”

Rounding out the results for the Mustangs was 47th place finisher Alex Hrycko (+12), followed by Greg Gabel (+18) and team captain Charles Fitzsimmons (+20).

“Fitzsimmons did not have a great tournament. Normally he is the leader on the team in scoring, but had an off week, shooting in the high 70′s in all three rounds,” Waite said about his captain’s disappointing result. “[However], there is no question that he will be there to lead us again this coming year.”

After a successful 2009 campaign, the Mustangs hope to challenge for the Ontario University Association title again this year. However, the men’s golf team will undergo a lot of changes before the upcoming season begins, with three of their five starters graduating.

“We have several guys with a couple of years experience with the ‘B team’ who are ready to step in to join Fitzsimmons and Hall. We also have several inquiries from excellent players who are coming to Western,” Waite said. “If they are as good as their resumes, we will be in great shape for another excellent season.”

Zanatta also believes the future looks promising for the men’s golf team.

“This was my last event with the Mustangs golf team, but I still expect the team to be contenders not only in OUA golf, but also on the national stage.”