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Men's Golf Adds Four in Class of 2008
November 27, 2007 | Men's Golf
Nov. 27, 2007
Louisville, Ky. - The University of Louisville head men's golf coach Mark Crabtree has received four received National-Letters-of-Intent from the class of 2008 including three Floridians and one Michigan native.
The Cardinals continue their strong presence in the Sunshine State with the additions of Connor Arendell (Cape Coral, Fla.), Justin Dorward (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and Christopher Biuso (Tampa, Fla.). Completing the talent-laden group is Alex Lyall of Novi, Mich. Three of the four recruits rank in top 75 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings making this the most distinguished recruiting class in Louisville men's golf history.
Connor Arendell (Mariner High School, No 19 in the Golfweek/Sagarin) comes to the Cards with a much decorated resume. He is ranked in the Top 50 on the Junior Golf Scoreboard and ranked in the Top 25 junior golfers in the in the country in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. Connor has played in the previous two USGA Amateur Championships, medaling in each year's local qualifier. The three-time high school team captain recorded one victory and three top five finishes in American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) and Future Collegian World Tour (FCWT) events in the last two year on his way to being named and FCWT All-American. Arendell has been a model of consistency but showed the ability to go low at the 2006 Press Thornton Future Masters with a final round 63 that catapulted him up the leader board where he finished in the top five.
Connor has excelled locally by posting victories in two Florida Junior Golf Tour (FJGT) events as well as being named to the Lee County Athletic Conference (LCAC) first-team four consecutive years as a member of the Mariner High School golf team. Arendell has also been a four-time All-Area First Team honoree while earning medalist honors in the Florida High School Athletic Association District Championship in 2006 and 2007. A member of the National Honors Society, Arendell has posted two important victories of late to close out the 2007 season. He set a new tournament scoring record with scores of 66-70 (136) capturing the Cape Coral City Championship and recently topped it off by coming from behind to earn medalist honors at the Southwest Florida Men's Amateur with back-to-back rounds of 69 to finish at 4 under-par 138.
Justin Dorward (Lincoln Park Academy High School, No 50 in the Golfweek/Sagarin) joins the Cards bringing a wealth of experience from national and international competition with two victories in national tournaments (Prestige Junior Championship and the CollegeBoundGolfers.com National Championship). In 2006 and 2007, Dorward traveled overseas to compete in the Harder German Junior Masters and notched and second and tenth place finish, respectively. He earned medalist honors once again at the 2007 Florida Junior Invitational at Mission Inn and at the local qualifier for the 2007 USGA Public Links Championship.
The Lincoln Park senior capped his senior year in style. He finished second at the Districts with a 2 under-par 70, earned medalist honors at the Regional with a 6 under-par 66 and finished runner-up at the FHSAA State Championship with rounds of 70-73--143. A two-time member of the National Honors Society, Dorward has also been a three-year varsity letter winner for the Lincoln Park baseball team.
Christopher Biuso (King High School, No. 72 in the Goflweek/Sagarin) signs with the Cardinals after an impressive junior golf career where he notched two victories on the Florida Junior Golf Tour. In addition, Christopher was the medalist at the 2006 Nolan Henke Junior Masters and was a 2006 FHSAA District Champion. Biuso finished third in the 2006 Florida State Junior Championship and notched a fifth place finish in the 2006 Press Thornton Future Masters. Christopher has earned three top 12 finishes in AJGA events highlighted by a T8 finish at the Golf Pride Junior Classic at The National.
A solid ball-striker, Biuso was recognized by his teammates as the Most Valuable Player on his high school team and was named the National Junior Golfer of the Week by Golfweek Magazine on September 17th.
Alex Lyall (Novi High School) will join the Cardinals golf team on the heels of a solid junior career. Lyall has two runner-up finishes in AJGA events including the 2007 Nationwide Insurance Junior where he posted rounds of 70-71-68 for a 7 under-par 209. While on his way to finishing second in the FCWT Central Division points race, Lyall posted four top seven finishes including a third place showing at the Whistling Straights Junior Classic. A three-time Novi High School team captain, he qualified for the 2007 USGA Junior Amateur Championship where he advance to the match play before losing his first round match at Boone Valley Golf Club in Augusta, Mo.
With one season remaining in Michigan high school golf, Lyall has been named to the Division One All-State team twice, Honorable Mention in 2005 and a First-Team selection in 2006.
"I am very pleased with the 2008 recruiting class," said Crabtree. "We have four tremendous young men who have all excelled at the highest level of junior golf. On paper, Connor is the highest ranked player ever to join the Cardinals, while Justin just finished up his high school career with a runnerup finish in the Florida State High School Championship. Chris has been very successful with FJT and AJGA events and Alex performed admirably at the US Junior earlier this summer. We will expect this group to contribute next year and I am confident they are will do just that. This was a big class for us with our outgoing seniors and we have found the right group to move forward in the Big East Conference."
