Limestone College Named Favorite to Win 2017 Conference Carolinas Men's Golf Championship
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Limestone College were tabbed the favorites to win the 2017 Conference Carolinas Men's Golf Championship, the league announced today. The Saints received 75 points and four first-place votes from conference coaches.
The Saints, who are the two-time defending Conference Carolinas Men's Golf Championship champion, advanced to the NCAA South/Southeast Regional for a third consecutive season during the 2016 campaign. Limestone also had an individual golfer finish third overall at the NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship.
Belmont Abbey College narrowly landed second in the preseason poll with 74 points and three first-place votes. The Crusaders finished runner-up at last year's Conference Carolinas Men's Golf Championship.
University of Mount Olive nabbing third in the poll with 69 points and two first-place votes from coaches. The Trojans notched a third-place finish at the 2016 men's championship.
King University produced 52 points for fourth in the preseason poll and North Greenville University finished three points behind in fifth with 49 points.
The Tornado finished fifth at last year's men's golf championship, while the Crusaders of North Greenville finished sixth and earned a bid the the NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship.
Pfeiffer University comes into 2016 ranked sixth with 42 points, which was narrowly ahead of Erskine College's 40 points in seventh.
The Falcons posted a seventh-place finish at the 2016 Conference Carolinas Men's Golf Championship and the Flying Fleet finished in fourth-place.
Rounding out the poll in eighth with 36 points is Southern Wesleyan University, followed by Barton College in ninth with 31 points.
The Warriors enter their first season of postseason eligibility in 2017, while the Bulldogs finished eighth in last year's women's golf championship.
The 2017 Conference Carolinas men's golf season begins on Monday, Feb. 15.
2017 Men's Golf Preseason Poll
| School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. Limestone (4) |
75 |
| 2. Belmont Abbey (3) |
74 |
| 3. Mount Olive (2) |
69 |
| 4. King |
52 |
| 5. North Greenville |
49 |
| 6. Pfeiffer |
42 |
| 7. Erskine |
40 |
| 8. Southern Wesleyan |
36 |
| 9. Barton |
31 |
2017 Conference Carolinas Men's Golfers to Watch:
Golfer (Year):
Justin Plane (So.) - Barton
Travis Broome (Jr.) - Barton
Jonathan Costello (So.) - Erskine
Paul Fitzgerald (Sr.) - Erskine
Matthew Dalrymple (Fr.) - King
Robert Wilkinson (So.) - King
Kelsey March (So.) - King
Filip Sandberg (So.) - Limestone
Cabrick Waters (Sr.) - Limestone
Will Woodard (Sr.) - Limestone
Patrick Schweitz (Fr.) - Mount Olive
John Thatch (Jr.) - Mount Olive
Nick Adams (Jr.) - Mount Olive
Evan Gfeller (Jr.) - North Greenville
Christian Constance (Sr.) - North Greenville
Nathan Bull (Sr.) - Pfeiffer
Zach Weaver (Sr.) - Pfeiffer
Ty Campbell (Fr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Ryan Burke (Fr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Briar Herd (Sr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Emmanuel College is currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.