That strong first impression unfortunately began to give way to a sadly commonplace phenomenon in New England college golf: all golfers tend to play worse in college than they did in high school.

"School adds pressure," Boyda said. "We can't practice as much as we want to, and we have five months off between the fall and spring seasons."

That first five-month gap posed a problem for the freshman Sanchez. After spring break that year, he shot 90 at the Yale Invitational and did not participate in the Ivy League Championships. It is the only tournament thus far in his career in which he has not played.

However, that freshman year had its bright moments.

"[My performance in the Yale Invitational] was a wake-up call," Sanchez said. "A week later, I was shooting 75 again."

Boyda woke up from his own hibernation that freshman spring soon thereafter. In the spring New Englands at Pleasant Valley in Worcester that season, Boyda had an 82 on the first day and a 75 on the second--going three-under on the front nine in round two.

"It was the best nine holes I've ever played," Boyda said.

Fast-forward back to the present, to a season that has proven both difficult and satisfying for both players.

"The beginning of this spring season was especially frustrating for me," Sanchez said. "My game wasn't in sync. I was shooting 84, 85 without really knowing why. But I'm over it."

Neither captain was pleased with his score in the Harvard-Yale-Princeton tournament, the team's first tournament of the spring. Sanchez shot 85; Boyda shot 91.

"It was a beautiful day, but some of the guys were still a little bit rusty," junior Amar Goel said. "It says a lot for Ed and Luis that they turned it around."

"We had had a bad fall season all the way around," Boyda said. "I played badly in the fall. As captain, I felt responsible to play better."

But the Crimson turned it around, winning the Greater Boston Tournament last week for the first time in five years. And Harvard's combined 305 at the Spring New Englands last Thursday ranked among the top five scores for the day.

"Almost all of us played well that day." Boyda said. "This spring has been very encouraging."

Boyda and Sanchez have followed long paths in their golf careers.