2008 Woodie Awards
SSU: best in the nation
Men's golf starts season ranked number one
Eric Adelman
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: Sports
After an extraordinary fall season that never saw the SSU men's golf team finish worse than second in any tournament, the Seawolves started the spring season as the number one ranked Division II team in the nation.
The Seawolves launched their spring campaign by placing third at the Cal State Bakersfield Poor Boy Invitational on Feb. 25. The Seawolves played exceptional golf in the first two rounds of the match, shooting 12 strokes under par to tie with UCLA and Cal State Stanislaus for first place after day one.
In the second day and third round of the tournament, the Seawolves were outmatched by UCLA and Stanislaus. The Seawolves shot 290 in the final round, good enough to finish six shots behind UCLA, ranked number four amongst Division I teams, and seven shots behind number five seeded Cal State Stanislaus who took the crown.
Head coach Val Verhunce explained that even though he was disappointed that the Seawolves didn't win the tournament, he was happy for the underdog Cal State Stanislaus. "We didn't get the job done," said Verhunce. "Guys didn't play up to their potential. Stanislaus beat a power house like UCLA. It's always awesome to see a David beat a Goliath."
Verhunce believed that preparation, a key strength for the team, was not the reason why the Seawolves did not come out on top at the Poor Boy Invitational.
"We have a number of individuals that are working hard to prepare for events," said Verhunce. "When it comes to game time they aren't nervous or anxious. I don't think it was because of nervousness or anxiety. We didn't make the putts that we needed to make. They just didn't fall all week."
It's no surprise that junior Jarin Todd, who last season received the Jack Nicklaus award for being the best player in Division II golf, will be the Seawolves most valuable asset in the spring season. Todd was honored for being the only Division II golfer selected to the Ben Hogan Award Players to Watch List, with every other player hailing from top Division I schools.
The Seawolves launched their spring campaign by placing third at the Cal State Bakersfield Poor Boy Invitational on Feb. 25. The Seawolves played exceptional golf in the first two rounds of the match, shooting 12 strokes under par to tie with UCLA and Cal State Stanislaus for first place after day one.
In the second day and third round of the tournament, the Seawolves were outmatched by UCLA and Stanislaus. The Seawolves shot 290 in the final round, good enough to finish six shots behind UCLA, ranked number four amongst Division I teams, and seven shots behind number five seeded Cal State Stanislaus who took the crown.
Head coach Val Verhunce explained that even though he was disappointed that the Seawolves didn't win the tournament, he was happy for the underdog Cal State Stanislaus. "We didn't get the job done," said Verhunce. "Guys didn't play up to their potential. Stanislaus beat a power house like UCLA. It's always awesome to see a David beat a Goliath."
Verhunce believed that preparation, a key strength for the team, was not the reason why the Seawolves did not come out on top at the Poor Boy Invitational.
"We have a number of individuals that are working hard to prepare for events," said Verhunce. "When it comes to game time they aren't nervous or anxious. I don't think it was because of nervousness or anxiety. We didn't make the putts that we needed to make. They just didn't fall all week."
It's no surprise that junior Jarin Todd, who last season received the Jack Nicklaus award for being the best player in Division II golf, will be the Seawolves most valuable asset in the spring season. Todd was honored for being the only Division II golfer selected to the Ben Hogan Award Players to Watch List, with every other player hailing from top Division I schools.
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