Golf places 2nd in Raines competition

This year’s golf team placed second at the Raines Intercollegiate tournament on Sept. 11. The team competed not only outside of the PBC, but also against Division I schools. The Bobcat golf team is no stranger to playing above its division, though, having most of the season tournaments against schools in the NCAA.

Losing no one from last year’s team, experience and chemistry are not hard to come by. The one new freshman addition to the team, Austin Glover, has a lot to benefit from so much upperclassmen leadership.

“Having only one freshman on the team is new,” senior biology major Patrick Garrett said. “Along with the new freshman, there are two seniors, some juniors and some sophomores. There’s a lot of depth with the team.”

Last season, the team won the region and made it all the way to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, but this year, the team looks to make an even bigger mark. Both of this year’s seniors made the all-region first team, and look to repeat last year’s success out on the course.

“We’re going to try and keep playing solid golf,” senior management major Taylor Smith said.  “Our region is one of the toughest regions in the nation.”

In addition to the other accolades, the GC golf team was nationally ranked 18th at the end of last season.

Smith said other teams now know who they are.

“It was a lot of fun, showing up to tournaments and people expected you to do well,” Smith said. “People knew who we were and it made it more enjoyable.”

Being nationally ranked helps the team stay focused and motivated over the grueling length and time commitment of the season.

A season spanning from Sept. 9 to May 25 with only one break over the winter is both physically and mentally demanding on these student athletes.

The team looks to keep the momentum rolling from now all the way until May, when the NCAA tournament takes place in Hershey, Penn.

Coach Jimmy Wilson, head coach of the golf team for 17 seasons, has taken 15 straight teams to the prestigious event.

“There is some pressure playing for Coach Wilson, you don’t want to be the one team that doesn’t make it,” Garrett said. “You don’t want to be the team that drops the ball and brings that streak to an end.”

Wilson humbly said it will be the students who help get them back to the tournament.

“I plan on them taking me back,” Wilson said. “I haven’t done anything to get that streak; the guys have done all of that.”

Posted by Evan Senken on Sep 20 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.