Young Bobcats find their stride in Spring

     GCSU golf coach Jimmy Wilson, even with a quiet demeanor and soft words, showed mounds of confidence and enthusiasm for his No. 9 Bobcats.
     “Our strength is that we have seven guys that could be our low medalist on any given day,” Wilson said. “If we had any weakness it would be that we’re sort of young.”
     But overall he feels the team is balanced when it comes to talent.
     “It’s been neat in years past to have a solid No. 1 guy,” Wilson said. “But this year we’ve got six or seven guys that could be No. 1.”
     Among the two freshmen on the starting roster is Niclass Johansson, a pivotal player for the Bobcats who is actually 21 years old.
     “He came in sort of a wild card,” Wilson said. “He’s been a very pleasant surprise.”
     Francisco Bide, the other freshman on the team, is a true freshman from Argentina.
     “We thought when we signed him that he would be in the starting five immediately,” Wilson said. “Both (Bide and Johansson) have played very solid golf.”
      Bide has played in five events this year and has an average score of 74.6 and three top-20 finishes while Johansson has played seven events with an average score of 75.2 and two top-20 finishes. These players’ contributions to the team’s performance has led to considerable finishes in past tournaments including back-to-back tournament titles. The Bobcats took the Presbyterian Intercollegiate tournament and the Pirate Invitational Tournament.
     “If you win one tournament, you feel pretty good about it,” Wilson said. “You go out and win the next week, then you start thinking ‘We deserve to be here; we’re that good.’”
     Junior Kyle Collins is confident that the team can play with anyone in the nation. Collins has played in nine events this season and has an average score of 74.6 and two top-20 finishes.
     “If we just stay relaxed and play our game then we can definitely contend and win,” Collins said.
     Tournament wins and strong play is important as the year goes on and the Peach Belt Conference tournament approaches. For Wilson, those wins give his team a chance to do well in whatever tournament they play in.
     “You develop confidence with wins and hopefully our confidence will continue to grow,” Wilson said.
     Wilson and the rest of the team will take the tournament wins but the ultimate goal is playing for a national championship.
     “We’re trying to build toward the third week in May,” Wilson said. “That’s when the NCAA tournament is.”
     The NCAA tournament is being held in Grand Rapids, Mich., and for Wilson wins this time of year help toward winning later in the year.
     “I’m proud of these guys for what they’ve accomplished so far but again we talked about it back in August and September that we’re building toward that ultimate goal, which is to get to the national tournament and, hopefully, compete well once we get there,” Wilson said. “So far, so good, but the rest remains to be seen.”
     Collins echoed the words of his coach and described the year’s efforts as greatly depending upon their performance in the regionals to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
     “If we don’t play well at regionals, then it’s really all for naught,” Collins said. “If we don’t get to the national championship and get to compete there, then (the season) is a failure I think.”
     The team’s next match is the Peach Belt Conference Championships in Greensboro, Ga on April 16-17. GCSU is the host of the tournament.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 6 2007. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry