SPORTS
11
February 25, 2011
Guilford's top 16 sports toams: 1989 golf team #3
Ryan Gordy
Staff Writer
"Guilford is more than capable of com
peting with teams on the Division I level,"
said former golf coach Jack Jensen. "We play
against Division I schools for the majority of
our schedule anyway."
The year was 1988, and some of us weren't
even born yet. The men's golf team had come
in second place in the National Association
of Intercollegiate Athletics National Golf
Championships for the previous four years.
The only accomplishment the team had yet
to achieve was the national title. This is why
the men's golf team of 1989 is the number
three team on the countdown: they brought
that title to Guilford.
The team only had nine golfers on the ros
ter, but that did not stop them from attaining
their goals. The Quakers had a solid and
deep lineup that included Lee Porter '89,
Mike Hutcheon '89, Chris Haarlow '91, and
Mitch Clodfelter '90.
This team was a force to be reckoned with
all season: fall and spring.
The team's only stumble occurred when
they finished fifteenth at the John Ryan
Memorial where the majority of the compet
ing teams were prominent Division I schools.
Besides that little hiccup, the Quakers were
dominant.
Guilford played in 14 total tournaments
in the 1988-89 season. Out of those tourna
ments, they had an astounding 12 top five
team finishes. In addition, the team boasted
five first place wins, bettering their oppo
nents by an average of six strokes.
In the opening match of the year, the
Aubrey Apple Invitational, four Guilford
golfers claimed the top four places in the
tournament. In the following three tourna
ments, the worst defeat they had was third
place overall.
The team was extremely talented because
any one of their four stars could have the
game of his life every day on the golf course.
That year, it was Porter's time to shine. In
two separate special events from the regular
season. Porter competed in and won the
World University Games and the North &
South Amateur tournaments.
Porter's confidence and the previ
ous tournament win at the Camp Lejeune
Intercollegiate Invitational had the Quakers
primed for a run at the NAIA District 26
Championships. In order to compete in the
national championship, Guilford needed to
place in the top 10.
Maybe it was a sign of things to come,
because Guilford left District 26 as. the cham
pions after the tournament concluded. The
Quakers put on a stunning performance.
Clodfelter was the runner-up in the tourna
ment, while Porter and Haarlow locked up
third and fourth place.
After this win it was on to the NAIA
National Championships.
Although Porter did not have a great
tournament and finished in 34 place overall,
his teammates picked him up. Hutcheon
had a total score of 291 over the four days
of competition and placed in third. Haarlow
and Jed Venhuizen '90 finished in the top 15
spots, while Clodfelter landed in the top 25
with scores all lower than 310.
Guilford's four-day total score was 1187,
which gained the team their first NAIA
National Championship over Huntingdon
College.
This was Guilford's first-ever champion
ship in its proud golf history.
The 1989 golf team produced two All-
Americans, won the District Championship
by nine strokes, had 12 top-five finishes on the
year, and won the National Championship.
Also, Jack Jensen joined an elite group.
He became the second NAIA coach to win
national titles in two sports — golf and
basketball.
Whats Going On in Guilford Sports..
LAST WEEK'S GAMES AND MATCHES
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Feb. 19 Guilford 74 EASTERN MENNONITE 79*
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Feb. 19 GUILFORD 82 Eastern Mennonite 84*
MEN'S LACROSSE
Feb. 18 GUILFORD 10 Ferrum 9
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Feb. 23 Guilford 6 GREENSBORO 17
Feb. 23 Guilford 8 PEACE I
Guilford 9 PEACE 0
Feb. 20 Guilford 9 RANDOLPH-MACON 0*
BASEBALL
Feb. 22 Guilford 5 FERRUM 13
MEN'S TENNIS
Feb. 20 GUILFORD 9 Randolph-Macon 0*
UPCOMING GAMES AND MATCHES
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Feb. 25 Guilford v Randolph *!
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Feb. 24 Guilford v Bridgewater*!
MEN'S LACROSSE
Feb. 27 GUILFORD v Marywood
BASEBALL
Feb. 27 GUILFORD v Lynchburg*
GOLF
Feb. 28 Guilford at Pine Needles Intercollegiate
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Feb. 27 GUILFORD v Denison
Key- *-0DAC Game l-ODAC tournament game Home team in CAPS