2014 Men’s Basketball
Championship
| DIVISION I |
|---|
.jpg) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Patrick Cantlay Key Notes: |
Jordan Spieth
Key Notes: |
Patrick Rogers Key Notes: |
Eugene Wong Key Notes: |
Dylan Frittelli Key Notes: |
| DIVISION II |
|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Marcelo Rozo Key Notes: |
Daniel Stapff Key Notes: |
Andrew Green Key Notes: |
Kyle Souza Key Notes: |
Benjamin Taylor Key Notes: |
| DIVISION III |
|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Noah Ratner Key Notes: |
Mike Wesko Key Notes: |
Jeremy Sanders Key Notes: |
Joesph Evans Key Notes: |
Tony Krogen Key Notes: |
| DIVISION I |
|---|
|
Noting Texas: Texas won its final three tournaments of the fall season by an average margin of 20.67 strokes. The Longhorns also won their spring kickoff, the Amer Ari Invitational, by five strokes. Texas also boasts the top two ranked players in the individual rankings. Freshman Jordan Spieth leads the rankings followed by teammate Dylan Frittelli. Head coach John Fields is in his 15th season at the helm of the Longhorn program. Fields has guided Texas to three top-five finishes at the NCAA championships and five appearances in the top 10 in the final national rankings, including a fifth-place finish in 2003. He also has helped produce 13 All-Americans who have earned a total of 21 All-America honors.
Noting Oregon: Oregon finished third in last year’s NCAA tournament and looks to improve upon that this season. Winners of three tournaments in four fall events under sixth-year head coach Casey Martin (yes, that Casey Martin), the Ducks have an experience-laden squad, led by 2010 Nicklaus Award winner Eugene Wong and fellow All-American Daniel Miernicki. Wong is the current No. 1 scorer nationally with a scoring average of 68.50. The lone underclassman on the Ducks is Rak Cho, who placed second at the St. Mary’s Invitational in the fall — the first event of his collegiate career.
Noting UCLA: For the Bruins, it all seems to center around Patrick Cantlay, the sensational sophomore who surprised the big boys by posting that fabulous second-round 60 at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship in June. Cantlay will also play in The Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. However, Cantlay has struggled a bit in the fall, dropping all the way to 19th in the individual collegiate rankings. Junior Pontus Widegren and and sophomore Anton Arboleda each finished in the individual top 10 at the spring opener last weekend in Hawaii and appear to be poised to pick up the slack. |
Oregon Ducks
UCLA Bruins
| DIVISION II |
|---|
|
Noting Lynn: The Fighting Knights return six letterwinners from last year’s team which advanced to the NCAA championship. During the fall season, Lynn won four of the five tournaments it entered. Marcelo Rozo leads the squad with a 70.92 stroke average and three top-five finishes, including a victory at the Sandestin Collegiate. Daniel Young has a 71.83 average followed by Roberto Francioni at 72.08. That trio combined for eight top-10 finishes during the fall.
Noting Barry: Last season, the Bucs finished ninth at the Division II championship. It marked the fifth time in the program’s history Barry made a national finals appearance, and ninth time it qualified for the national tournament. In the fall season, Barry won the Shark Invitational in West Palm Beach, claiming the 14-team event by 14 strokes. The Bucs finished second at the Queens Invitational in Jacksonville, third at the Aflac/Cougar Invitational in Columbus, Ga., and fifth at the Otter Invitational in Monterey, Calif.
Noting Central Oklahoma: The Bronchos have won 14 of their last 18 tournaments and have won all five fall tournaments they participated in. All-Americans Josh Creel, Andrew Green and Baer Aneshansley lead the way for the Bronchos, who are mentored by first-year head coach Pat Bates, a three-time All-Southeastern Conference pick at Florida and an All-American in 1989, ‘90 and ‘91 before embarking on a 17-year professional career. Bates played on the European, Canadian and South African tours from 1992-94, spent several years on the Nationwide Tour and played four years on the PGA Tour (1995, 2002-04). |
Lynn Fighting Knights
Central Oklahoma Bronchos
| DIVISION III |
|---|
|
Noting Guilford: The Quakers won team titles at the Golfweek Fall Invitational and the O’Briant-Jensen Memorial during the fall season. They also finished second at the Gordin Division III Preview. Guilford returns all five regulars from the 2010-11 team, including seniors Mat Hennick and Dusty Roberts. Junior Noah Ratner is back after earning first-team All-America honors and the ODAC Player of the Year Award in 2011. He held the ODAC’s best individual stroke average at 73.1.
Noting Methodist: Under the direction of 25th-year head coach Steve Conley, the Monarchs have been picked USA South Athletic Conference 2012 golf title in the preseason coaches’ poll. If they win, it’ll be the school’s 29th conference championship. The Monarchs finished in the top 10 in all four of their events this fall including earning the win at the NCAA Preview in September.
Noting Redlands: The fortunes of the Bulldogs will likely turn on the performance of sophomore Jeremy Sanders, who burst onto the national scene as a freshman, collecting All-America, all-region and All-SCIAC first-team plaudits as well as earning West Region Freshman Team accolades and was named Ken Sherman Freshman of the Year. After enjoying a semester abroad, senior Scott Peña, the team’s lone member from the 2007 NCAA national runner-up squad, returns to the tee. |
Guilford Quakers
Methodist Monarchs
Redlands Bulldogs
| Keep an Eye on These Events | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
March 16-17 — Texas hosts Morris Williams Invitational |
||||
 |
April 21-22 – Texas A&M hosts Aggie Invitational |
||||
 |
April 2-3 – Barry hosts Buccaneer Invitational |
||||
 |
April 16-17 — Cal State Stanislaus hosts Hanny Stanislaus Invitational |
||||
 |
April 9-10 — Emory hosts Emory Spring Invitational |
||||
All photos courtesy of respective athletic departments.
Advertisement