Golf tees up for spring season
The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men’s golf team kicks off the spring season this weekend at the Purgatory Intercollegiate hosted by Taylor University.
Yesterday the Cougars finished sixth out of 15 with a team score of 320. Sophomore Sam Romine led the way for MVNU taking fifth place with an individual score of 75.
The Cougars will be back on the course tomorrow for day two of the competition.
Cougars’ Head Coach Mike King looks forward to seeing consistency among the teams as the spring season kicks off.
“We finished really strong in the fall, and I look forward to seeing continued improvement this spring,” he said.
During the fall season, the men’s team earned four top-five finishes including their home invitational.
Junior Sean Thomas earned two first-place scores for the Cougars at the MVNU Fall Invitational.
King will look to Thomas and sophomores Sam Romine and Kaden Welch to lead the Cougars this spring.
“We’re a fairly young team, but those three guys have some good experience and had a terrific fall season,” he said.
The biggest key for Thomas, Romine and Welch will be consistency.
“We lean on them a lot and look forward to their improvement,” said King.
The men’s team will welcome freshmen Austin Baker (Bainbridge, Ohio), Adam Grate (Berlin, Ohio) and Nick Harmon (Pickerington, Ohio).
The senior class includes Zach Arck, Jaron Brust, Chandler Cook, Seth King and Nate Spahr.
King also looks forward to the women’s season as they “showed tremendous improvement” in the fall.
Seniors Brittany Smith and Andrea Martin are expected to lead the Lady Cougars.
Smith broke her previous MVNU school record at the Cougar Fall Classic. Her two-round total was 160, seven strokes lower than her previous record. Sophomore Rachel Schroeder’s 164 two-round total earned her a second-place school record.
Freshman Olivia Albrecht, junior Phoenix Emde and senior Danielle Shaver will also compete for the women’s team this spring.
Looking ahead, King believes the Lady Cougars have room to grow.
“We want to see continued improvement in everything this season,” he said.
The Lady Cougars will kick off their spring season at home on the Chapel Hill Golf Course on April 1.