Men's golf team finishes strong in the desert

Here is a quick story I wrote for the Western Front published last Friday, April 1, 2011. It is about golf, which I know nothing about, but it was my first article published this quarter. I can already tell that writing for the Front this quarter is going to be a blast. More pictures/articles to come soon. David




                                                                                                                        


The Western men’s golf team finished fourth overall at the Grand Canyon University Men's Golf Spring Invitational Tournament held on March 28 and 29.


Western, currently ranked No. 2 in the latest Division II Golf Coaches Association of America Golf World/NIKE Golf Top 25, posted rounds of 297, 294, and 290 for a two day total of 881.

“Overall, it was a disappointing trip for us,” Western senior Xavier Dailly said. “But in the last few rounds we played well and we have some stuff to build on.”


Tournament host Grand Canyon University, which trailed by one stroke after two rounds, finished strong carding an even par round of 288 and won the tournament with a final score of seven over par, 871.


No. 1-ranked Chico State placed second posting a score of 879 and was followed closely by Dixie State, which trailed by one stroke.


Western sophomore Dylan Goodwin and Dailly placed among the top 10 in medalist play. Goodwin tied for sixth after shooting 218 with a final round score of 75 and Dailly tied for ninth, carding 219 and a final round of 71.


Two Vikings, sophomore Sandy Vaughn and junior Nick Varelia, each scored 224, and junior Brian Barhanovich tied for 34th at 227.


"We played better today and it was very close to a very good round," head coach Steve Card said in a press release. "Overall, we played less than our best, but it's good for us to get this wake up call now and be able to work on our game in preparation for the postseason."


It was the Vikings' second straight fourth-place finish after having won four and tied for second in their other five Division II tournaments this season.


The Vikings were unable to repeat the success they had in Arizona in the fall. The team placed first in the Grand Canyon Fall Invitational, held at the same golf course last October.


The Western men will have a week off from competition before participating in the final regular-season tournament, the Cal State Stanislaus Invitational on April 11 and 12 in Turlock, Calif. The Vikings will then have another week to prepare before the GNAC championships are held at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho.


“The rankings are fun to look at but they don’t matter in regionals, everybody tees off dead even,” Dailly said. “We just need to get out of this slump and get back to winning golf tournaments.”

http://westernfrontonline.net/sports/13236-mens-golf-team-finishes-strong-in-the-desert