The Wayne State men’s golf team will start the season nationally ranked 23rd in Division II. They were voted in by Golf World/NIKE and by all Division II coaches. Accompanying Wayne State University from the GLIAC Conference, Ferris State University is ranked 15th in the national poll to start the season.
“Being ranked as one of the top teams in the national feels great; every year I have been on the team, we have risen up the ranking which is a testament of how good our program really is. Now just have to go out and prove it,” Bryan Lynch, a redshirt junior, said.
The men’s golf team has never been nationally ranked before. This kind of recognition acknowledges their success last season and hopefully foreshadows greater things to come this year.
“I feel that our team has worked really hard to achieve our national ranking. Our team deserves the ranking we have; we have a lot of hard workers on our team,” said senior Chad Johnson.
WSU has their annual spring golf trip, and this year they are traveling down to South Carolina to get some non-conference exhibition matches in against opponents they normally do not see.
Mike Horn feels that getting some golf in before the warmer months hit here in Detroit will only help his team get back into rhythm.
“Last year we played Huntington College, a ranked Division III school, and it was good to play against stiff competition,” Horn said.
The Great Lakes Regional is the first event and will be played in Georgetown, Ky., at Cherry Blossom golf course, which is a two-day event. Coach Horn will take his ranked team down to Kentucky to compete, but feels that the ranking will not influence how his team plays.
“It’s just a number, we just want to go down there and compete and bring our best effort regardless of what that number is,” Horn said.
The Warriors finished the fall season with a solid showing at the Motor City Invitational in Grosse Ile in October. WSU was edged out of first place by FSU by four shots (880-884) after FSU put together a solid third day with a cumulative score of 286. Aaron Peterson, Wayne State sophomore from Ann Arbor, won the event, was his first collegiate victory.
At the GLIACs last season, the golf team finished third with a strong performance from Eric Johnson. Johnson finished second at the event and WSU shot a total score of 902. The team looks to continue strong individual performances, but hope to have better team finishes this upcoming spring season.
The Warriors lost Chad Johnson because he finished his final semester of eligibility in the fall and cannot compete this spring. He is a talented player and his skills and leadership experience will be missed, but the Warriors have plenty of young talent to retool and prepare for competition.
Joe Juszczyk, a redshirt senior, is expected to bring valued leadership to a team that has a lot of young talent, mixed with some veterans.
“Finishing so well last year has set the bar high for this year’s squad. But with the talent of freshman Alex LaSerra, and returning players Bubba (Michael) Wouters and Bryan Lynch, I have no doubt we can be just as successful,” redshirt junior David Anderson said.
April 16-19, the Warriors will have a challenging four days in Ohio participating in the Findlay Invitational and Tiffin Invitational. The major event of the spring is the NCAA Super Regional. The event will be held on Monday May 3-5.
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