Four years ago, they were they only freshmen at the first day of tryouts.

But now, as co-captains of the Harvard men's golf team, seniors Luis Sanchez and Ed Boyda call the shots--sometimes quite literally.

On a cold, windy Thursday morning last week, before the final day's play at the New England Division I Golf Championships at Portland, Me., Boyda and Sanchez set a team goal of breaking 310.

"We had had a bad fall season and a mediocre start to the spring." Boyda said. "310 is the mark between a mediocre score and a good score."

The team responded with an overall .305, the first time this spring that the Crimson shot lower than 310.

"When you shoot lots of bad rounds, it's easy to lose focus," Boyda said. "We wanted to remind the team that we can shoot 305."

"It's nice to set yourself a goal at the beginning and achieve it," Sanchez said. "It's a motivating force in the back of your mind."

Boyda and Sanchez led by example, Boyda shooting a solid 76 on day two. Sanchez did even better: his 70 gave him a total of 148, tied for second place only a shot behind the winner.

The two captains complement each other, both on the scoreboard and off. "Luis is the one who plays well; I deal more with the people on the team," Boyda said. "It's a good relationship."

Sanchez, however, said that Boyda has gradually stepped up to become a consistently good player in his own right.

"Ed's one of the pillars of the team," Sanchez said. "He's Rhodes Scholar, so he does not make stupid mistakes. He's not only a motivational leader, but he's also a leader on the course."

Their friendship has been blossoming for a long time. Joining them in practice on that first, fateful day were Lou Body '93, then a senior on both the golf and hockey teams, then-captain Jack Wylie '94, and Joel Radtke '96, one of last year's co-captains.

"It was a bit windy, but it was a pretty good day, as good as fall can get," Sanchez said.

Sanchez made an impressive first impression, shooting a 75, his lowest ever at The Country Club--the famous and challenging course in Brookline where the Crimson men's and women's teams practice.

"I remember thinking, 'Who is this kid? He must be pretty good,''' Boyda said.