Monday, February 21
Hilton Head Island, S.C.
All Day
Davidson College
at
Wexford Invitational (Francis Marion)
Davidson Golf Opens 2011 Season
2/20/2011 1:01:59 PM | Men's Golf
After facing strong competition during the 2010 fall season and playing courses such as The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, a future Ryder Cup site, the Davidson men's golf team is looking to prove themselves against top competition in the spring.
“Overall the fall season was good,” said head coach Tim Straub, entering his 11th season at the helm of the Wildcats. “Obviously there were times when we wished we had played better, but we showed we can compete with the best in the country.”
“We had a good schedule, and I was very proud of our young guys. The freshmen, Sam Echikson and Richard Fountain, really stepped in and adjusted well not only to school, but to college golf too.”
The two newcomers lived up to expectations in the fall and ended up leading the Wildcats in stroke average through four tournaments. Fountain concluded the fall season with a team-leading 72.58 stroke average, good for seventh in the conference, and fired a season-low 66 in the final round of the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate to force a playoff, which he won for his first collegiate medalist honor. Echikson earned a pair of top-20 finishes and concluded with a 73.83 average.
“They played very well and played very consistent, and that's not typical for freshmen, so I expect they will keep it up this spring,” said Straub.
Golfweek ranked Fountain as the 67th-best graduating senior before he entered Davidson, while Echikson was a member of Belgium's national team, so the duo will look to make their mark at the Southern Conference Championship.
“Richard and Sam bring a lot of confidence and a lot of talent to the team,” said Straub. “They seldom have off days and seem to show up ready to play every time they tee it up.”
A strong group of returners, led by senior captain Bobby Urso and junior Jackson Taylor, will also look to lead the Wildcats this spring. The pair finished the 2009-10 season with the top stroke averages on the team, and Taylor earned his first collegiate medalist honors at the spring season-opening Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate. Urso also fired a career-low 66 at the Southern Conference Championship.
The 2010 fall season proved to be challenging for the pair, so both will be looking to rebound in the spring. Taylor was only able to compete in two tournaments, but appears back on his game after surgery, as he won the Carolinas Young Amateur over the winter.
“Jackson played very well at the Carolina Young Amateurs this winter, and I think he is going to have a great spring,” said Straub. “Our captain, Bobby Urso, didn't play as well as he would have liked in the fall, so I think he is going to turn around and have a really good spring. He is a very hard worker and he is very dedicated.”
Boasting the third-best fall stroke average on the team in the fall was sophomore John Skeadas. Skeadas slid right into the starting lineup as a freshman in 2009-10, firing a 69 in his second collegiate tournament and placing sixth in the Wexford Intercollegiate. He finished the year with a 75.50 stroke average, but improved to 74.00 this past fall.
Seniors Christopher Rollins and Ryan Crum will also look to be big contributors this spring. Rollins tied for 15th at the Davidson College Invitational, while Crum finished in the top-30. Sophomore Walker Allen competed twice in the fall, while senior Adam Lewicki competed in the Davidson College Invitational.
A total of four newcomers joined the team for the 2010-11 season, as Ben Murray from Toronto, Ontario and local product James Bramlett (Charlotte, N.C.) rounded out the freshmen class. Murray saw action at the Davidson College Invitational.
After an offseason of weight lifting and yoga training, the team will open the spring slate for the sixth year in a row at Hilton Head Island, S.C. with the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate on Feb. 21-22. Jackson Taylor will look to defend his individual medalist title, while the team will look to improve on their third-place finish.
The 'Cats will return to the coast for the Seahawk Intercollegiate in Wilmington, N.C. the following week and face stiff competition from schools such as No. 25 Wake Forest, North Carolina and South Carolina. They will then return to competition at the Furman Intercollegiate on Mar. 18-20 and face a strong field that will also include several SoCon teams.
On Apr. 9-10, Davidson and Charlotte will once again host the Irish Creek Collegiate at The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis.
“I think we have our strongest field ever in the history of the tournament, so we are very excited about that,” said Straub. “It's going to be a great challenge, but I think the guys are up to it this spring.”
The home tournament will be the final tune-up before the SoCon Championship, which returns to the Country Club of South Carolina Apr. 17-19. The Wildcats will look to improve upon last year's 10th-place finish.
“The SoCon is as strong as ever this year,” said Straub. “We have some really strong programs like Chattanooga, Furman and College of Charleston who have been playing well. UNCG has been playing very well, so it's going to be tough. But we have shown that if we put it together and build our momentum as the spring goes on, there is no reason we can't be in the mix.”
“Overall the fall season was good,” said head coach Tim Straub, entering his 11th season at the helm of the Wildcats. “Obviously there were times when we wished we had played better, but we showed we can compete with the best in the country.”
“We had a good schedule, and I was very proud of our young guys. The freshmen, Sam Echikson and Richard Fountain, really stepped in and adjusted well not only to school, but to college golf too.”
The two newcomers lived up to expectations in the fall and ended up leading the Wildcats in stroke average through four tournaments. Fountain concluded the fall season with a team-leading 72.58 stroke average, good for seventh in the conference, and fired a season-low 66 in the final round of the Mizuno Savannah Intercollegiate to force a playoff, which he won for his first collegiate medalist honor. Echikson earned a pair of top-20 finishes and concluded with a 73.83 average.
“They played very well and played very consistent, and that's not typical for freshmen, so I expect they will keep it up this spring,” said Straub.
Golfweek ranked Fountain as the 67th-best graduating senior before he entered Davidson, while Echikson was a member of Belgium's national team, so the duo will look to make their mark at the Southern Conference Championship.
“Richard and Sam bring a lot of confidence and a lot of talent to the team,” said Straub. “They seldom have off days and seem to show up ready to play every time they tee it up.”
A strong group of returners, led by senior captain Bobby Urso and junior Jackson Taylor, will also look to lead the Wildcats this spring. The pair finished the 2009-10 season with the top stroke averages on the team, and Taylor earned his first collegiate medalist honors at the spring season-opening Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate. Urso also fired a career-low 66 at the Southern Conference Championship.
The 2010 fall season proved to be challenging for the pair, so both will be looking to rebound in the spring. Taylor was only able to compete in two tournaments, but appears back on his game after surgery, as he won the Carolinas Young Amateur over the winter.
“Jackson played very well at the Carolina Young Amateurs this winter, and I think he is going to have a great spring,” said Straub. “Our captain, Bobby Urso, didn't play as well as he would have liked in the fall, so I think he is going to turn around and have a really good spring. He is a very hard worker and he is very dedicated.”
Boasting the third-best fall stroke average on the team in the fall was sophomore John Skeadas. Skeadas slid right into the starting lineup as a freshman in 2009-10, firing a 69 in his second collegiate tournament and placing sixth in the Wexford Intercollegiate. He finished the year with a 75.50 stroke average, but improved to 74.00 this past fall.
Seniors Christopher Rollins and Ryan Crum will also look to be big contributors this spring. Rollins tied for 15th at the Davidson College Invitational, while Crum finished in the top-30. Sophomore Walker Allen competed twice in the fall, while senior Adam Lewicki competed in the Davidson College Invitational.
A total of four newcomers joined the team for the 2010-11 season, as Ben Murray from Toronto, Ontario and local product James Bramlett (Charlotte, N.C.) rounded out the freshmen class. Murray saw action at the Davidson College Invitational.
After an offseason of weight lifting and yoga training, the team will open the spring slate for the sixth year in a row at Hilton Head Island, S.C. with the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate on Feb. 21-22. Jackson Taylor will look to defend his individual medalist title, while the team will look to improve on their third-place finish.
The 'Cats will return to the coast for the Seahawk Intercollegiate in Wilmington, N.C. the following week and face stiff competition from schools such as No. 25 Wake Forest, North Carolina and South Carolina. They will then return to competition at the Furman Intercollegiate on Mar. 18-20 and face a strong field that will also include several SoCon teams.
On Apr. 9-10, Davidson and Charlotte will once again host the Irish Creek Collegiate at The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis.
“I think we have our strongest field ever in the history of the tournament, so we are very excited about that,” said Straub. “It's going to be a great challenge, but I think the guys are up to it this spring.”
The home tournament will be the final tune-up before the SoCon Championship, which returns to the Country Club of South Carolina Apr. 17-19. The Wildcats will look to improve upon last year's 10th-place finish.
“The SoCon is as strong as ever this year,” said Straub. “We have some really strong programs like Chattanooga, Furman and College of Charleston who have been playing well. UNCG has been playing very well, so it's going to be tough. But we have shown that if we put it together and build our momentum as the spring goes on, there is no reason we can't be in the mix.”
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