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
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.