The DU men’s golf team was finally able to put together a complete and consistent tournament this past week at the Sun Belt Conference championships in Muscle Shoals, Ala. And it just so happens that they were able to put it together at the prefect time.
Not only did the golfers capture the first SBC title in men’s golf program history, but they were also able to keep their streak alive of advancing to the NCAA West Regional.
In a couple weeks Denver will advance to its sixth consecutive regional, which the Pioneers probably were not going to qualify for without winning the conference tournament, like I said perfect timing.
Going into the SBC tournament the Pioneers had finished ninth or worse in six of their 11 tournaments on the season and were struggling to put together a team performance. Just over a week before the tournament DU had finished fifth in a very competitive field at the Arizona State Invitational and used that momentum to propel to victory at the SBC tourney.
“Of course it was not a surprise. With the talent we have on our team it was a surprise that we didn’t win more. This was just a long time coming,” said junior Danny Wax about the tournament win.
Denver shot a 4 under par 284 and was four shots back of leader, Louisiana-Lafayette after the first round. In the second round, the Pioneers came into a zone and shot an 8 under par 280 to take a five-shot lead over Louisiana-Lafayette.
In the final round DU struggled a little and shot a 1 over par 289 to finish with a 54-hole score of 11 under par 853 and held off second place New Orleans by one shot.
The Pioneers were led by Wax who finished alone in second place with a 9 under par 207, his lowest career finish.
Wax fired 12 birdies to go along with just three bogies over 54 holes.
Sophomore Espen Kofstad, fresh off his first-career tournament victory at the ASU Invitational, finished in a tie for fourth place with a 7 under par 209.
Also leading to the victory for Denver was senior Scott Tashie who shot a 3 over par 219 good for 22nd place tie and junior Jeff Koprivetz who finished in a tie for 26th with a 4 over par 220.
“It feels great: There is no better feeling than setting records and being part of history. This is a memory that I will share with my teammates forever,” said Wax about the team’s first SBC title.
The men’s golf SBC title has been claimed by a different team in each of the past six seasons. This is the Pioneers first team title since they captured the Fresno Lexus Golf Classic in October 2005.
DU will now wait for the announcement of which NCAA regional they will be placed at. Denver has made its last five regional appearances at the West Regional with it best finish in 2003 when the Pioneers finished in a tie for 15th. The top eight teams from each regional advance to the NCAA championships, which are being held in West Lafayette, Ind., this season.
“We plan to take the momentum we have built up from the ASU tourney and the SBC and play one shot at a time. We will continue to work hard on our games, keep our heads on straight. The entire team is very excited for regionals and we will make the best of it,” said Wax.
