Friday, September 23
Franklin, Tenn.
All Day
Davidson College Athletics
at
Mason Rudolph Championship
2011-12 Golf Team
2011-12 Golf Outlook
9/22/2011 9:55:00 AM | Men's Golf
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Following a season highlighted by freshman Richard Fountain's individual Southern Conference medalist win and trip to the NCAA Regionals, the Wildcats are hoping the entire team will be present at the NCAA Tournament this coming season.
“All the guys on our team have high individual goals, and they want to get to the NCAA's as a team,” said head coach Tim Straub, who will enter his 12th season at Davidson. “We are excited to be playing a tough schedule this season and measure ourselves against the best in the country.”
Davidson returns four of their five starters from last season's team that placed eighth at the Southern Conference Championship.
Senior Jackson Taylor and junior John Skeadas III bring the most experience to the lineup, as the upperclassmen have been regulars in the lineup since their freshman years. Taylor will be looking to lower his stroke average to its sophomore level or better, while Skeadas will be looking to build on a solid sophomore campaign where he posted the team's second lowest stroke average.
“They both have a lot of experience, so we are looking for their leadership and consistency,” said Straub. “They know what to expect and have been around it.”
Sophomores Richard Fountain and Sam Echikson will be looking to improve on stellar rookie campaigns, as the duo ranked sixth amongst all Division I golf teams according to Golfstat's "Freshman Class Impact Ranking" last season. Fountain made the most notable impact as he became the first Davidson golfer since Rusty Boyd in 1973 to win individual medalist honors at the SoCon Tournament, thus earning the league's automatic NCAA Regionals bid. Through two rounds at the NCAA Regional, Fountain was in contention to advance to the NCAA Finals on the extremely challenging Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech.
“Richard is one of the top players in the Southern Conference, and he is ready to compete at the national level, so we are really excited,” said Straub.
Fountain certainly did not take the summer off, as he earned a Top-10 finish at the North Carolina Open and tied for second at the North Carolina Amateur Championship. He even fired his second career 59 at the Roaring Gap Club in the mountains in Roaring Gap, N.C.
Echikson also had a strong summer playing in large tournaments such as the British Amateur. His stroke average ranked third on the team last season by a margin of one-hundredth, so he will once again be counted on for a strong, consistent season.
Walker Allen, James Bramlett and Ben Murray also return from last year's team, and will be expected to contribute for the 'Cats.
Two newcomers join the team in Ralph Blasey and Todd Eckstein. Eckstein, who hails from Durham, N.C. and attended Trinity School of Durham, was ranked sixth in the state of North Carolina by Carolinas Junior Golf, while Blasey, a Kensington, Md. native who attended The Landon School, was ranked seventh in the state of Maryland by Golfweek.
“I think they are both going to contribute, so we have not only a good team, but a deep team this year,” said Straub.
The 'Cats will need to be at their best this season, as they are taking on one of their most challenging schedules ever.
“We have four big tournaments this fall, starting at Vanderbilt,” said Straub. “We play at N.C. State the week after that, and then we play at Akron's tournament, which are both new ones for us. Then we finish up the fall playing back at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, so we're very excited to get everything started.”
In the spring, Davidson will visit familiar courses at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C. and the Seahawk Intercollegiate in Wilmington, but will also make new stops at the Samford Intercollegiate and Wofford Invitational. In between those two, Davidson will co-host the Irish Creek Collegiate with Charlotte again at The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, N.C.
The tough slate will prepare the 'Cats for the Southern Conference Championship, which will be held at the Daniel Island Club in South Carolina.
“Chattanooga is probably going to be one of the Top-30 teams in the country again this year, so we will have our hands full, but I think we can compete with all of them,” said Straub. “We're excited.”
“All the guys on our team have high individual goals, and they want to get to the NCAA's as a team,” said head coach Tim Straub, who will enter his 12th season at Davidson. “We are excited to be playing a tough schedule this season and measure ourselves against the best in the country.”
Davidson returns four of their five starters from last season's team that placed eighth at the Southern Conference Championship.
Senior Jackson Taylor and junior John Skeadas III bring the most experience to the lineup, as the upperclassmen have been regulars in the lineup since their freshman years. Taylor will be looking to lower his stroke average to its sophomore level or better, while Skeadas will be looking to build on a solid sophomore campaign where he posted the team's second lowest stroke average.
“They both have a lot of experience, so we are looking for their leadership and consistency,” said Straub. “They know what to expect and have been around it.”
Sophomores Richard Fountain and Sam Echikson will be looking to improve on stellar rookie campaigns, as the duo ranked sixth amongst all Division I golf teams according to Golfstat's "Freshman Class Impact Ranking" last season. Fountain made the most notable impact as he became the first Davidson golfer since Rusty Boyd in 1973 to win individual medalist honors at the SoCon Tournament, thus earning the league's automatic NCAA Regionals bid. Through two rounds at the NCAA Regional, Fountain was in contention to advance to the NCAA Finals on the extremely challenging Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech.
“Richard is one of the top players in the Southern Conference, and he is ready to compete at the national level, so we are really excited,” said Straub.
Fountain certainly did not take the summer off, as he earned a Top-10 finish at the North Carolina Open and tied for second at the North Carolina Amateur Championship. He even fired his second career 59 at the Roaring Gap Club in the mountains in Roaring Gap, N.C.
Echikson also had a strong summer playing in large tournaments such as the British Amateur. His stroke average ranked third on the team last season by a margin of one-hundredth, so he will once again be counted on for a strong, consistent season.
Walker Allen, James Bramlett and Ben Murray also return from last year's team, and will be expected to contribute for the 'Cats.
Two newcomers join the team in Ralph Blasey and Todd Eckstein. Eckstein, who hails from Durham, N.C. and attended Trinity School of Durham, was ranked sixth in the state of North Carolina by Carolinas Junior Golf, while Blasey, a Kensington, Md. native who attended The Landon School, was ranked seventh in the state of Maryland by Golfweek.
“I think they are both going to contribute, so we have not only a good team, but a deep team this year,” said Straub.
The 'Cats will need to be at their best this season, as they are taking on one of their most challenging schedules ever.
“We have four big tournaments this fall, starting at Vanderbilt,” said Straub. “We play at N.C. State the week after that, and then we play at Akron's tournament, which are both new ones for us. Then we finish up the fall playing back at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, so we're very excited to get everything started.”
In the spring, Davidson will visit familiar courses at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C. and the Seahawk Intercollegiate in Wilmington, but will also make new stops at the Samford Intercollegiate and Wofford Invitational. In between those two, Davidson will co-host the Irish Creek Collegiate with Charlotte again at The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, N.C.
The tough slate will prepare the 'Cats for the Southern Conference Championship, which will be held at the Daniel Island Club in South Carolina.
“Chattanooga is probably going to be one of the Top-30 teams in the country again this year, so we will have our hands full, but I think we can compete with all of them,” said Straub. “We're excited.”
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