No. 18 golf squad opens season in Fla.

    On Monday, Feb. 11, the Bobcat Men’s Golf team will begin its spring 2008 season at the Matlock Invitational in Lakeland, Fla. The Matlock Invitational will be hosted by Florida Southern University.
    There is much to be excited about as the Bobcats begin this spring season ranked No. 18 in the Golf World/ Nike Golf Division II Poll, but staying grounded, according to Coach Jimmy Wilson, is important for this relatively young team.   
    “The ranking is flattering, but the only thing that really matters is how we play in May,” Wilson said. “Right now, the ranking doesn’t really mean a thing.”
    Don’t mistake Wilson’s humble attitude for a lack of high expectations for this spring season.
    “This spring we expect to win, and we want to improve every time out,” Wilson said.
    High expectations are quite reasonable after completing an exciting fall season. The team returns three seniors and two sophomores from last year’s team.
    Seniors Juan Bialet and Kyle Collins, and sophomores Nicolas Johansson and Francisco Bide will provide important leadership and experience for the team after competing in the NCAA Championship last spring where it finished sixth.
    This year the team is joined by a good nucleus of young talented players including freshmen Joe Young, Bayley Craig and Billy Shida.
    Senior Juan Bialet is embracing his role as a veteran and returning senior for this upcoming spring season.
    “It feels good to be an experienced senior,” Bialet said. “I feel like I have the abilities to guide the other players to play well and to play well myself. This semester is my last big chance to play good golf here, and I plan to take advantage of it.”
    With experience, solid leadership, high expectations and a humble attitude, the team appears poised to make a strong run into the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and into the NCAA Championship Tournament.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 8 2008. 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