Barton Remains 11th in Golf World/Nike Preseason Coaches' Poll While Abbey Up to No. 25; Queens & Mount Olive Recieve Votes

Barton Remains 11th in Golf World/Nike Preseason Coaches' Poll While Abbey Up to No. 25; Queens & Mount Olive Recieve Votes

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Barton Remains 11th in Golf World/Nike Preseason Coaches' Poll While Abbey Up to No. 25; Queens & Mount Olive Recieve Votes

NOTES: Portions of the release courtesy of Barton Sports Information & Golf Digest

NEW YORK, N.Y.
—After coming off an impressive Elite 8 appearance in 2010-11, the Barton College men's golf team has been selected No. 11 nationally in the Golf World/Nike Golf Division II College Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released on Wednesday.

 

Barton is the top ranked team from Conference Carolinas and the Southeast Region in the preseason poll.

 

The Bulldogs return five of its six players that played in the NCAA postseason last spring including All-American and Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Daniel Claytor and Honorable Mention All-American/Southeast Region co-medalist Michael Marshburn. Barton's letter winners also include Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year Dermot McElhennon, the Bulldogs lone senior in David Boyce and the sophomore duo of Micah Lawrence and Nicolas Fonseca.

 

Head coach John Hackney and assistant Kevin Buczek added a quartet of talented freshman to this year's deep roster to help replace the void left by four-time Conference Carolinas All-Tournament honoree Daniel Castleberry including newcomers Trent Cloninger, Austin Doerr, Brian Quilter and George Shenas.

Hackney led the Barton golf team to arguably its best season in 2010-11. The Bulldogs won three tournaments, were nationally ranked all season, collected numerous postseason awards and made a run at a national championship.

Barton capped an impressive season with a fifth-place finish in the NCAA Division II National Championship at the Robert Trent Jones Trail at The Shoals in Florence, Ala. The Bulldogs qualified for the championship with a third-place finish in the very difficult Southeast Regional at Victoria Hills Country Club in Deland, Fla. The Bulldogs then rallied with an even-par performance in the third round of the finals to advance to the Elite 8 match play before losing to top-ranked and top-seed Lynn University in the quarterfinals to tie for fifth. 

Barton will be looking to contend for a national title again in 2011-12, opening up the fall season as the defending champions at the Kiawah Island Invitational hosted by USC Aiken on September 5-6.

The preseason poll combined the resources of Golf World magazine, Nike Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). The complete results, including results from Divisions I, III, NAIA and NJCAA will appear in the September 5, 2011 issue of Golf World.

 

Abilene Christian enters the 2011-12 season as the No. 1 ranked team in the Golf World/Nike Golf Division II preseason coaches' poll. The Wildcats won five tournaments a year ago and finished no worse than fourth in any of their 13 starts, reaching the Final Four of the NCAA Championship. They claimed three of 18 first-place votes.

Lynn, last year's NCAA runner-up, claims the second spot in the preseason poll, also earning three first-place votes. Rounding out the top five are Chico State, Barry and Central Oklahoma, each receiving at least one first-place vote.

Defending NCAA champion CSU-Monterey Bay sits in the No. 6 spot, having earned six first-place votes.


-courtesy of Belmont Abbey College Sports Information-

Men's Golf Ranked 25th Nationally In Golf World/Nike Coaches Poll

 

The Belmont Abbey men's golf team debuted at 25th nationally in the latest Golf World/Nike Coaches poll. The Crusaders were ranked 41st in the preseason and have vaulted all the way to 25th after three strong showings this fall.

The Crusaders have captured three top five finishes in as many tournaments, including a pair of second place finishes at the CenturyLink Invitational and the Myrtle Beach Intercollegiate. The Abbey earned a fourth-place effort at the season-opening Kiawah Invitational.

Second year Head Coach Joey Denton will take his team to one more tournament during the fall, as they will participate in the Will Wilson/Tanglewood Intercollegiate at Tanglewod Park (Clemmons, North Carolina) October 16-18.


 

Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches' Poll

Pre-Season Poll | Sept. 5 Issue

NCAA Division II

 

Rank      Team                                                     Points       NCAA

1.            Abilene Christian (3)                       382             Final 4

2.            Lynn (3)                                                376             2

3.            Chico State (1)                                   370             DNP

4.            Barry (2)                                               368             9

5.            Central Oklahoma (3)                     342             Elite 8

6.            CSU-Monterey Bay (6)                  332             Won

7.            West Florida                                       316             DNP

8.            Western Washington                     267             DNP 

9.            North Alabama                                 259             DNP

10.          Central Missouri                               256             Final 4

11.          Barton                                                  254             Elite 8

12.          Sonoma State                                    248             T-11

13.          Columbus State                                210             10

14.          Georgia College                                202             DNP  

15.          Nova Southeastern                         185             DNP

16.          Newberry                                           177             Elite 8

17.          CSU-Stanislaus                                  172             DNP

18.          USC-Aiken                                          146             DNP

19.          Armstrong Atlantic                          118             DNP

                Fort Lewis                                           118             Elite 8

21.          Florida Southern                              116             T-11

22.          Hawaii-Hilo                                         92               DNP

23.          Flagler                                                   89               DNP 

24.          Indianapolis                                        66               DNP

25.          CU-Colorado Springs                      60               DNP

                Grand Canyon                                   60               DNP

 

Also receiving votes: UNC-Pembroke, 59; Cameron, 56; Valdosta State, 46; Colorado State-Pueblo, 33; Missouri-St. Louis, 31; Dixie State, 29; Indiana U. (Pa.), 26; Queens U. (Charlotte), 25; Rollins, 19; Florida Tech, 18; CSU-San Bernardino, 16; Delta State, 14; Drury, 14; Grand Valley State, 14; Lander, 14; Belmont Abbey, 13; Carson-Newman, 12; Wayne State (Mich.), 12; Saginaw Valley State, 11; Georgia Southwestern, 10; St. Edwards, 10; Colorado School of Mines, 9; Colorado Christian, 7; Dallas Baptist, 7; Mount Olive, 7; Northern Kentucky, 7; Northeastern State, 5; St. Thomas Aquinas, 5; Newman, 4; North Georgia, 4; Bellarmine, 3; Western New Mexico, 3; Midwestern State, 2; Saint Leo, 2; Washburn, 2; Hawaii Pacific, 1.