10 I April 10, 2015
The Guilfordian
I
CPORTS
WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM/SPORTS
Men's golf team dominates the ODAC
BY BANNING WATSON
Staff Wrfter
The golf team prepares for the end of the season & looks forward to strong performances during the ODAC championship matches.
New coach.
Half of the team are first-year or sophomore players.,
Neither of these things suggests winning conditions for
any sports team. And yet, the Guilford College golf team has
overcome these obstacles.
With a little over a month left in the season, the Quakers’
scoring average is the best in the ODAC with three team members
accounting for the majority of the top five scores in the league.
“So far the spring season is going pretty well,” said head coach
Justin Tereshko. “We had two second-place finishers and one
eighth place where the teams we faced off against were all ranked
ahead of us. We’re definitely taking steps in the right direction.
“As for the ODAC, we’re apparendy the favorite going in
according to the stats. As long as the boys just take it one shot at
a time, I think we’ll like where we’re at on April 21 (final day of
the ODAC championship).”
Tereshko replaced Corey Maggard, who led the team for
four years before leaving for the head coaching job at Auburn
University. Tereshko recentiy graduated from Transylvania
University in 2012 and has been working as the assistant coach at
DePauw University for the past two seasons,
“I love it here,” said Tereshko. “The faculty and staff have been
nothing but kind to me, and my players have been excellent.
“It took me a couple of weeks to get to know my players and
their game, but at this point in the season ! feel like I know their
game pretty well and that we see eye-to-eye on certain situations.
I’m excited for us to get the opportunity to represent the school
at the ODAC and maybe the nationals.”
Nationals this season are being hosted by Guilford College
at Grandover Resort here in Greensboro on May 12-15 for the
second year in a row.
“We haven’t been quite as successful this season as in the past,
but we’re coming togedier towards the end of the season, so we’re
looking forward to competing in the ODAC championship and
maybe the national championship,” said Henry Smith, senior
golfer. “I believe that we are definitely the strongest team in our
conference. I mean, we’ve won the conference championship for
the last four years, so we expect to win it again this year.”
Maggard left some pretty big shoes to fill, as Guilford won
four ODAC tournaments straight during his time, and national
performance has been somewhat less spectacular. Last season
ended with the team ranked 17th, and the last time the team
reached the finalist bracket was 2010.
Guilford has, however, won 14 ODAC championships since
joining the league in 1991 and is currently ranked 11th nationally
this season as of April 3.
“I think the ODAC might be a little bit stronger top to bottom
then it has been in years past, but we’ve fared pretty well this
season against ODAC teams,” said Sports Information Director
Dave Waters. “Teams to watch out for are Hampton-Sydney and
Washington and Lee. Both have great teams this season, so they’ll
be tough to beat.”
As for the younger players, sophomore Ty Palmer is currently
ranked fourth in the ODAC with a 74.8 scoring average in 18
rounds while Tanner Gross, also a sophomore, trails close behind
with 75.3 average in 19 rounds. Senior Drew Thompson leads
the pack placing second in the ODAC with a 73.7 average in 18
roimds. These statistics are subject to change but represent the
ODAC stats as of April 6.
JOIN THE GUILFOR
Earn English or communication credit and career
experience while working on your school's newspaper
Register for ENGL 285: GuHfordion PractlGum To get credit for writing, sign up for
for the foil 2015 semester for 1,2 or 4 credits ENG 282, the prerequisite for ENG 285
oo
h-
Z
UJ
UJ
Q
Copy Editing
Writing
Web Design
Pho8ogi*ciphy
Layout
Videography
Jeff Jeske: jjeske@guilford.edu
Instructor permission required for ENGL 285.