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Cardinal Golfers Swing Into Spring Season at Beau Chene Classic
February 23, 2003 | Men's Golf
Feb. 23, 2003
Coming off one of the top fall campaigns in school history and with a youthful lineup consisting of three sophomores and a pair of freshmen, head coach Mark Crabtree and the University of Louisville men's golf team will swing into the spring season at the Beau Chene Collegiate Classic hosted by Southeast Louisiana University on February 24-25 at the Beau Chene Golf and Country Club in Covington, La.
"We're coming off an exciting fall season in which we made many strides and we're looking to carry the momentum from our strong finish into the spring season," Crabtree said. "We've got a young and talented lineup that has the potential to be one of the best ever at the University of Louisville and it's great to see the strides that our guys are making from one week to another."
Crabtree has become accustomed to watching his Cardinals rewrite the U of L record book in his three-plus seasons at U of L, however, even he is shocked at the Cards' success during the recently completed fall season in which they posted a 290.6 team stroke average, nearly six strokes under the U of L season record, and logged top five finishes in four of six events.
Anchored by a pair of sophomores in Brett Jones, the '02 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, and Mark Anderson, the Cards have emerged as a contender for the C-USA title using one of the league's youngest lineups. Jones, who teamed with Anderson and Charlie Woo to give the Cards the nation's fifth-ranked freshman class last season, finished the fall season with a 70.93 stroke average, nearly three shots below the school single season record and good enough to rank 19th nationally. Anderson has been a most capable sidekick to Jones, posting a 73.13 stroke average to give the Cards a strong one-two punch atop the lineup.
Crabtree likes what he sees from his two sophomore atop the lineup, but knows it's going to take a team effort for the Cards to take the next step.
"Jones and Anderson are guys we count on each week to set the tone for the rest of our guys," Crabtree said. "I think those two have established themselves atop the lineup and now we need to some of the other guys to step up and claim their spots in the lineup. We've got some serious competition for those other three spots and I think once we get the lower lineup established that we're going to be the kind of team that can compete for championships at every event we participate in."
Joining Jones and Anderson in the lineup for the Beau Chene Collegiate Classic is fellow sophomore Woo and a pair of freshmen in Will Hanna and Tim Powell. Woo, who struggled through the fall season after an impressive summer campaign in which he claimed victories in two of Canada's biggest amateur events, is the wild card for a young Cardinal lineup looking to jump to the next level. If Woo can regain his hot summer swing, the Cards could be well on their way to challenging for an NCAA birth at the conclusion of the season.
Following in the footsteps of last season's talented class, Hanna and Powell appear to be on the verge of becoming fixtures in the Cardinal lineup. Hanna posted a respectable 74.4 strong average while appearing in four of five fall events while Powell came on late in the season, logging a fifth-place finish at the Baylor Invitational in the final of event of the season and the second event of his career.
The 54-hole event will feature two 18-hole rounds on Monday on the par 72, 6,725-yard Oak Course followed by a third and final round on Tuesday. The Beau Chene Collegiate Classic is in its 14th year of existence. This year the tournament has attracted an outstanding field of 15 teams, including five from Conference USA. In addition to U of L and host Southeastern Louisiana, the field will feature Southern Miss, Charlotte, New Mexico State, Tulane, Sam Houston, Coastal Carolina, McNeese State, East Carolina, Troy State, Colorado State, Campbell, Mississippi and Louisiana-Monroe.
