The University of Evansville men's golf team earned little respect from Missouri Valley Conference coaches in the pre-tournament poll, but the Purple Aces' head coach believes his golfers could surprise people when the State Farm MVC Tournament begins today at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.
UE is picked to finish sixth, even though coach Jim Hamilton's Aces are one of only three MVC schools with a team average of 300 or less in 2009-10.
"Picking us sixth should be a motivation for the boys," Hamilton says. "It will be up to them to see how they respond, but if they play golf the way they are capable, I think they will be just fine. They have proven they can win, and they like winning. As a team, they are very focused right now."
Evansville has finished fourth or better just once in its 15 years in the MVC, in 2002 with a third place finish. But the last two years show that UE has come within a whisker of consecutive top four finishes. In 2008, with a team score of 899, the Aces finished fifth out of nine and just one stroke out of fourth place. Last year, at 933, they finished sixth, but just four strokes out of fourth.
UE already has one championship this spring, in the 15-team Ball State Cardinal Collegiate at Sultan's Run Golf Course in Jasper. Sophomore Michael Sainz finished fourth in a field of 83 golfers there with rounds of 76, 72 and 72 for 4-over-par 220. He leads the team with a 74.33 stroke average through 24 rounds. Right behind is classmate Griffin Wood at 74.42, and team captain Christian Poling, UE's only senior, at 74.72.
The nine MVC teams (Indiana State does not have men's golf) play 36 holes today at Prairie Dunes, a par 70, 6,598-yard layout. The final 18 holes are Tuesday. Five players from each team play, and the top four scores in each round count. Host Wichita State is picked to win the tourney, followed by Illinois State. Those are the only two teams that beat Evansville's 297.46 scoring average in 2009-10.
MVC PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLL
1. Wichita State (8 1st place) 80; 2. Illinois State (1) 73; 3. Missouri State 55; 4. Drake 52; 5. Northern Iowa 48; 6. Evansville 35; 7. Southern Illinois 33; 8. Creighton 20; 9. Bradley 9.
