It’s possible the St. John Fisher golf team didn’t get the memo that clocks sprung ahead an hour earlier than normal this year.

For whatever reason, the team has looked out of sync this season, at least compared to its fall campaign.

After winning six of their seven fall tournaments, the Cardinals have taken a step back, only capturing one of three spring tournaments, with two to go.

“The spring is not quite going to my expectations,” head coach Bob Simms said. “We haven’t played as consistent as we did in the fall.”

Fisher placed fourth at their most recent tournament, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Invitational in Hershey, Pa., on April 8 and April 9.

“I was a little disappointed with the result,” Simms said. “It’s puzzling to me. I don’t know why we haven’t played as well lately. I really don’t know what it is.”

Franklin & Marshall (624) and Allegheny College (628) placed one and two respectively, while Wesley College (631) took third. The Cardinals finished with a score of 634 for fourth, while local rival University of Rochester took eighth and Nazareth College finished 15th.

“It was a tough weekend,” junior Nick Velasco said. “Scores were high down there. The course played difficult. It was cold and gusty so that was part of it and we just didn’t play too well.”

Velasco finished with a team-low 157, despite an 82 in his first game – good for seventh overall of 75 golfers. Freshman Tom Muto, Jr. scored a 158, junior Bobby McCartney a 159 and junior Scott Harris, Jr. a 160. Senior David DeLary shot a 172.

“We just have to get a little bit better,” Simms said. “We play in two weeks, so that gives us time to correct our mistakes, which I’m sure we will.”

The Cardinals finished first for the first time this spring season at the Nike Spring Collegiate Classic at The Links of Gettysburg, March 31 and April 1, with a two-day total of 596.

The team topped second-place Susquehanna University by seven strokes. Carnegie Mellon was third, Wesley fourth, and regional rival Franklin & Marshall finished seventh. Rochester finished sixth and Nazareth 12th.

Harris led Fisher, shooting consecutive rounds of two-under-par 70. Muto finished with a total of 151, McCartney a 153, DeLary a 154 and Velasco a 159.

The Cardinals opened its spring season at the Jekyll Island Invitational in Jekyll Island, Ga., finishing 11th out of 24 teams. All ten teams finishing ahead of Fisher were ranked top 26 in the nation at the time.

“There’s a lot of great teams in that tournament, but we were hoping for at least top 10, maybe top five,” Velasco said. “Obviously, we came in 11th.”

Fisher, which is ranked 22nd in the most recent Golf Coaches Association of America national poll, is looking to finish strong enough in its last two tournaments to impress the NCAA Tournament committee and earn a berth in the national tournament.

“It’s no different than how NCAA basketball works,” Simms said. “The committee looks at quality wins and how you play down the stretch. That’s why it’s important for us to finish strong.”

The team qualified in the national tournament for the first time in school history last year.

“We’ve had good teams for the last four years,” said Simms, who has been coaching golf at Fisher for seven years. “This is the best team we’ve ever had. Expectations for our program are high.”

Fisher now has its eyes set on the Empire 8 Conference Championship, which will take place April 21 and 22 at the Mark Twain Golf Course in Elmira.

It finishes off its spring season with the Fred B. Kravetz Invitational, April 27 and 28, which will be played at Irondequoit Country Club on the first day and Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) the second day.

The team will then await a potential berth to the NCAA Tournament. The spread of 23 teams will be announced May 7 and the tournament will be played in Indiana from May 15 to 18.