ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia University Men’s Golf team is set and ready to hit the links for the 2009-10 season. The Golden Bears are coming off a season in which they just missed a berth to the NCAA Championships. Since the inaugural season in 2005, the men’s golf team at CU has shown drastic improvements each season. This season looks to continue in that direction.
As the season progressed, the CU men’s golf team improved on their play from day one. The Golden Bears looked to make a run for a championship season as they won the NSIC Warm-Up event. The Golden Bears ended conference play when they tied for 5th at the NSIC Championships. The team finished the tournament with a school record score of 288.
CU looked poised to make a bid for the NCAA tournament. With a strong showing at the RMAC Championships, the CU golfers came up just shy of a chance to compete at the national tournament. The Golden Bears needed to finish ahead of three teams, Regis, Colorado Christian and Colorado Mines.
Head Coach Matt Higgins has had to rely on youth to have strong showings to stay competitive. “We had a lot of freshman thrown right into the fire and they competed well,” said Higgins.
The men’s team will rely on its underclassmen to carry them into this season. They were a young team last year and hope that the younger players continue to improve and have another strong season for the CU. Coach Higgins has confidence in his experienced athletes. “I really think that this year could be there year,” said Higgins. “We could make some noise in the conference, region and even on the national level,” added Higgins.
Coach Higgins is looking for the underclassmen to step up, “we have a huge junior class this year,” said Higgins. “They have had two years of experience and they are the class that we are going to depend on,” added Higgins.
One of those juniors is team captain Nick Jarrett (Woodbury, Minn.) who is expected to take charge heading into the fall season. Jarrett was named to the ESPN the Magazine All-District V Second Team last season. He was also named to the NSIC All-Academic team in 2009. He leads the team with a 76.7 18-hole stroke average coming into the season.
“Look to him for some leadership and experience coming into this season,” said Higgins.
Co-captain Kyle Lewis (Jr., Forest Lake, Minn.) had his best finish of the season in the first meet of the year with a second-place finish at the Augustana Fall Invite. Lewis qualified for the NCAA Regional tournament as an individual during the 2007-08 season. He is the first male golfer in school history to qualify for the NCAA Regional tournament.
Higgins commented on Lewis’s experience, “He is a very experienced player who has played every year since freshman year,” said Higgins.
The Golden Bears also have the luxury of returning an experienced golfer in Alex Timm (Jr., Hopkins, Minn.). Timm scored his career-low round of 69 last year, which was good enough for his first career medalist honor. He became the third golfer in school history to finish in first place at an event.
Coach Higgins brought in two freshmen for the upcoming season with the hopes that they can compete for a spot in the top-5. C.J. Aadland (Pine City, Minn.) will bring a competitive edge to the CU golf team. “C.J. is very athletic and talented and has a ton of potential,” said Higgins. “As a captain in two sports in high school, he will provide great leadership in his time here at Concordia and we are excited to work with him at the collegiate level,” added Higgins.
John Potter (Woodbury, Minn.) is the only other freshman on the roster this season. Potter was an All-State golfer at Woodbury High School and will compete for a spot in the top-5. Coach Higgins on Potter’s ability, “I believe John is one of the best high school players in the state.” said Higgins. “He has all the tools to be one of the best players in our conference and I look for him to make an immediate impact in our conference and region,” added Higgins.
Higgins also added Cory Pike (Jr., Princeton, Minn.) who transferred to CU from Mesa Community College, who could compete for a roster spot this season. “Cory will come in and make an immediate impact for us,” said Higgins. “Playing in the Arizona Community College level is a high level of golf and he should have no problem making the transition to the Northern Sun and the Division II level,” added Higgins. Coach Higgins also mentioned, “He has only one year of eligibility remaining so he has high expectations to contribute right away. He will provide leadership to our young program, on and off the course.”
The Golden Bears will have a very deep roster this year and will have plenty to choose from when it comes time to make a decision on the top-5 golfers for any given tournament. Higgins returns three sophomores who all have tournament experience at the Division II level. Aron Duren (Scandia, Minn.), Joe Koyiol (Gilbert, Minn.) and Jeremy Tetrault (Forest Lake, Minn.) all have tournament experience for the Golden Bears and will help push competition to get into the top-5.
Calvin Zimmerman (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) returns for his senior season and looks to bring leadership to a young team. Scott Bullock (Sr., Brooklyn Center, Minn.) will also bring senior leadership to the CU golf squad. Junior Eric Peterson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) was a talented multi-sport athlete in high school and will look to make his way into the line-up this fall.
The Golden Bears open up the season with a Dual match against Macalester College at Troy Burne Golf Course in Hudson, Wis. on Sept. 3. Next the team travels to Sioux Falls, S.D. to compete in the Augustana Invitational, Sept. 13-14. The following weekend the men’s squad heads to St. Cloud, Minn. for the Husky Invitational.
Sept. 27-28 the men’s squad will head west towards Gothenburg, Neb. to compete in the NSIC/RMAC Crossover. That will serve as a warm-up for the NSIC Championships Round 1 of 2 on Oct. 4-5 at Hastings Country Club in Hastings, Minn. In their last competition of the fall season the Golden Bears will compete in the Twin Cities Classic hosted by Gustavus on Oct. 10-12. This tournament will bring them on a tour of golf courses throughout the Twin Cities area. The first competition takes place at Elk River Country Club in Elk River, Minn., the second at the Links at Northfork and the third at Wayzata Country Club in Wayzata, Minn.
