They may not be first to spring to mind when it comes to Clan varsity sports, but perhaps they should be. The SFU golf teams may be small, but the hard work put in by these dedicated athletes is paying off.
Coming off an impressive fall season that saw the young squad improve 44 spots for a 28th ranking in the NCAA Division II, the Clan men’s golf program has hit the spring season strong.
As of early March, the Clan have earned their first top-20 ranking in the nation since joining the NCAA in 2010, sitting in 19th position.
“This is an incredible accomplishment for the team,” said head coach John Buchanan. “We are a small team, and lack the depth that allows many of our competitors to be successful, but we have very dedicated players here at SFU.”
Since the turn of the calendar year the Clan have continued to excel, earning a seventh place finish at CSU-San Bernadino Coyote Classic, before finishing second at the Notre Dame de Namur (NDNU) Argonaut Invitational, which earned them their top-20 ranking.
At the NDNU Invitational, the Clan had a strong showing with two athletes finishing in the top 10 and four finishing in the top 20.
Bret Thompson, the 2013 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, and freshman Kevin Vigna led the way coming in fifth and seventh respectively. Thompson had rounds of 71-75-72 (+2), while Vigna had rounds of 76-74-71 (+5) to lead the team on the road.
Senior Mike Belle finished in 13th position, and John Mlikotic finished 18th, while TJ McColl rounded out the field for the team. Chico State, ranked second in the NCAA Div. II, won the tournament just 22 strokes ahead of the Clan, proving how tight the competition truly is.
“We finished only 22 strokes being Chico,” continued Buchanan. “Mike [Belle] had a rough first day which would have helped us out there, but it really shows how close we are coming this season. I am very optimistic looking forward to the rest of this season and onto 2015.”
The Clan men will be back in action with two more events in California, as they prepare for the GNAC Championships, where they will look to advance onward to the West Regional Tournament.
