Men's and women's golf off to promising starts in season

By Jackson Morgus

Men's Golf

The Santa Clara men's golf team is already off to a hot start in 2009. Just two tournaments into the season, the team already has a championship under its collective belt.

The Broncos outdueled fifteen other teams to take home the Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Desert on Oct. 6, the second of five fall tournaments scheduled for the team in the fall of 2009.

Head Coach Rob Miller was excited about what the victory can mean for his promising team going forward.

"We have a pretty young team," he said. "Of the six guys we have playing two are freshmen and two are sophomores. Confidence is more important on a young team."

Senior Jimmy Cacho is likely the strongest returner for the Broncos and will look to turn in a another solid campaign in 2009.

Last year, Cacho had three top 10 finishes, including eighth place at the West Coast Conference Championships last spring.

This year, he put himself in contention twice. He finished 10th in the Michigan State Spartan Classic and 18th in the Desert Intercollegiate.

"Jimmy is a guy that everyone on the team looks to for leadership on and off the course," said Miller.

Another potential standout for the Broncos will be Junior Scott Travers. Travers has returned to the links this fall after missing the 2008-2009 season to injury.

A standout in his sophomore season, he registered four top-10 finishes, including a win at the UC Irvine Anteater Invitational and making the All-WCC First Team in 2007-2008.

Picking up where he left off in 2007-2008, Travers finished fifth in Michigan at the Spartan Classic, and followed by leading the way at the Desert Intercollegiate win by playing his way to a second place individual finish at 5 under par.

"Scott worked really hard during his year off," said Miller. "He is ranked in the top 75 nationally, and his scoring average is below 70."

Santa Clara got a couple of other outstanding individual efforts and consistent overall play at the Desert Intercollegiate Classic Club en route to the win. Newcomer Scott Lamb registered a top 10 in his second collegiate tournament by firing a score of 2 over par. Cacho and sophomore Ronnald Monaco each registered top-20 finishes, placing 18th and 17th, respectively. Solid showings from sophomore Cory Mehl and freshman Rick Lamb rounded out the tournament for the Santa Clara squad. The team finished four strokes ahead of Cal State Northridge at +8 for the three day tournament.

Up next, the Broncos will play in the Del Walker Intercollegiate in Long Beach today and tomorrow. To end the fall schedule, the team will play in the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate in Kahuku, Oahu, Hawaii. The team plays half of its schedule this fall, then continues, after a winter break, in the spring of 2010.

"Experience is going to help us," said Miller. "We like where we are at now, but experience is going to help us be better by the end of the year."

Santa Clara has already eclipsed its best tournament finish from 2008-2009 by winning the Desert Intercollegiate. Last season, the team's best performance came at the Santa Clara Invitational, tied for fourth, and the Del Mar Intercollegiate, coming in fifth place.

Women's Golf

After getting a taste of individual success in 2008-2009, the women's golf team looks to translate that into collective success.

A year ago, then-sophomore Miki Ueoka became the first Santa Clara women's golfer to advance to the NCAA Regional tournament. This year, Ueoka is flanked by a strong, experienced group of Santa Clara golfers who hope to contend for the WCC crown.

Head Coach Polly Schulze sees the upcoming season as a team effort and is looking for success across the board.

"I would not just stop at Miki, we've got players who at any time can go low. I am very confident that the team is going to post some record-breaking team scores this year," she said.

The team started their season with a strong showing at the Firestone Grill Invitational. The Broncos came in fourth in the event hosted by Cal-Poly, posting a team score of 96 over par in the field of 10. Cal State Northridge and Cal Poly tied for the tournament lead, while UC Riverside finished third, seven shots better than the Broncos.

Erin Sullivan led the way for Santa Clara by posting a four-round score of 21 over par, good for a ninth place finish overall.

Schulze praised her team's depth and is encouraged by the competition it creates on her squad.

"Our No. 3-5 (golfers) can easily rise to the No. 1 or No. 2 spot, so we don't just have one player to support the team. It will truly be a team effort this year," she said.

"What I want from the team is that they continue to grow and improve with each event we play in. We've got a yearlong goal and each time we travel and compete, we are learning and growing so that we peak at the right time," she added.

The tournament was the first of two this fall for the Broncos.

To round out the fall season, they will travel to Kahuku, Oahu, Hawaii and compete in the Turtle Bay College Invitational in November.

The team has a winter hiatus before returning February 28 for the Fresno State Invitational.

"For me our fall season is really about finding out where we are statistically and working to get stronger in those areas so that we can reach our goals for the spring," explained Schulze. "The fall season is about laying the foundation to finish the year strong. The team is doing a great job of getting better one day at a time."

Those are promising words for a team that won the Boise State Bronco Invitational and Sacramento State Invitational last seaon.

Contact Jackson Morgus at jmorgus@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.