Men face 9 competitors at next weeks Sun Belt tourney

Three days, 18 holes a day, and 52 holes in total determine your final score.

* Each good and each bad stroke counts.

In the collegiate sport of golf, players can not just perform well one day but; they must consistent for three days in a row to win a tournament.

The University of Denver men’s golf team, led by seniors Tony Giarrantano, Matt Parkin, Tommy Hart, Shawn Wills, and John Buffalo, is poised to take on the Sun Belt Conference.

This Monday the golfers will play their first round against Arkansas State, Arkansas-Little Rock, Louisiana -Lafayette, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, New Orleans, North Texas, South Alabama, and Western Kentucky. The tournament will be held at Bluewater Bay Resort in Niceville, Fla.

The Pioneers can only hope to come away with a stronger finish than last year. In the 2001-2002 season, the Pioneers experienced their first Division I tournament win and had a third-place finish at the Sun Belt tournament, just missing out on a berth in the NCAA play.

A key golfer on the Denver team, Erik Billinger, graduated and left an opportunity for other members to step up and lead the team.

Freshman James Love from Calgary, Alberta, has recently dominated the team standings and has consistently finished well this season.

Recently he was awarded the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week honor. Love is currently ranked fifth in the Sun Belt Conference on scoring average, with 73.16 strokes per round in 25 rounds this season.

* Women hope to return to NCAA nationals

The women’s golf team will look to return to the NCAA national championships next week when the Pioneers play in the Sun Belt Conference championships.

The team is headed to Bluewater Bay Resort in Niceville, Fla., to participate in the annual Sun Belt Conference championships which begin Monday.

The team will play a similar format as the men’s team with three days of intense competition deciding the Sun Belt champion.

The team competed last fall in the Colorado State University Ptarmigan RAM Fall Classic where the Pioneers placed fifth.

The 2001-2002 season ended on a very high note with DU’s first ever women’s golf berth in the NCAA tournament. Six out of the eight golfers are back this year.

Senior Kelly Schaub leads the team again this season in the 2002-2003 averages with a season average of 24 rounds of 76.35. Sophomore Tessa Gillam has been at the front of the pack during the spring season thus far and leads the Pioneers in action with an average score of 78.00. Schaub and Gilliam were both strong contributors in last year’s Sun Belt tournament. Schaub finishing in 12th place and Gillian finishing 32nd.

The Pioneers placed third at the Dixie Classic in Utah. Sara Silva and Kate Waggoner led the team and tied for the 11th place in the final standings with scores of 227 each. With improved scores, the Pioneers can look to end the season on a high note at the Sun Belt tournament and continue to the NCAA national championships.