TicketsBearcat Golf Preparing For Season Openers
Men going to Butler, women to Louisville
Contact: Shawn Sell
9/18/2004
Junior John Clodfelder is one of eight returning letterwinners for the UC Men's Golf team. |
SETTING THE SCENE: Both University of Cincinnati golf teams are slated to open the 2004-05 season, starting Monday, Sept. 20 and continuing on Tuesday, Sept. 21. The men's team will travel to Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis, Ind., while the women are set to go to the Cardinal Club Golf Course for the University of Louisville's Cardinal Cup.
PREVIEWING THE MEN'S TOURNAMENT: A total of 15 men?s squads will contest the 2004 Butler Fall Invitational, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 20-21 at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis, Ind. Joining the Bearcats and the host Bulldogs in the field are squads from Cleveland State, Eastern Illinois, Indianapolis, IPFW, IUPUI, Loyola (Ill.), Morehead State, Oakland, Quincy, Southern Indiana, UW-Green Bay and Youngstown State. A seven-team women?s tournament will be held in conjunction with the men?s event, but UC will not field a squad as the Bearcat women are slated to compete in the Cardinal Cup hosted by Louisville on the same days. The 2003 edition of the event was won by Oakland by a six-stroke margin over Butler. The Bearcats did not play in last season?s Butler Invitational.
PREVIEWING THE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT: The Cardinal Club Golf Course will serve as the host for the annual Cardinal Cup to be held Sept. 20-21 in Louisville, Ky. Cincinnati will be one of 12 teams in a tournament field that includes a total of four Conference USA schools. Joining UC and the host Cardinals from C-USA will be USF and Southern Miss. Rounding out the balance of the field will be Austin Peay, Bellarmine, Central Florida, Eastern Kentucky, Georgia State, IUPUI, James Madison and UNC-Greensboro. East Carolina won the 2003 Cardinal Cup, while the Bearcats came home seventh in the 11-team field.
LIVE STATS: Live scoring of the 2004 Cardinal Cup will be provided by www.golfstat.com. A link will also be available via the official website of the Bearcats, www.ucbearcats.com.
REPLACING LARBES: Cincinnati?s biggest chore this season will be to replace four-year letterwinner Chris Larbes, one of the top players in the program?s recent history. During his Bearcat career, Larbes played a total of 90.5 rounds and recorded an average of 77.4. As a sophomore, Larbes broke the 70 barrier with a career-low round of 69, one stroke better than his second-low round recorded as a freshman. Last season, Larbes was the only Bearcat to play in all nine tournament and he finished with a best of sixth at the Krump Kup.
EVERYBODY BACK: UC head coach Janet Carl has the luxury of welcoming all seven members of her 2003-04 roster back for this season. The Bearcat roster is also one that includes just two upperclassmen in seniors Allison Couch and Alysa Few. UC featured five freshman that all showed steady improvement during the season, led by Sarah Bires, who played all 27 rounds and finished with the team?s third-best average of 86.7.
LOTS OF EXPERIENCE: The Bearcats enter this season returning a wealth of experience, as a total of 10 players, eight of whom are returning, played in at least one tournament last season. Leading the way are a pair of juniors in former walk-on Adam Fluty and John Clodfelder. Fluty led the team with a 76.0 average last season, while Clodfelder finished third with a 77.5 and tied for the team?s lowest round of the year with a 71.
TEAM LEADER: The unquestioned leader of this season?s Bearcats is undoubtedly senior Allison Couch. Couch has had the team?s lowest average each of the past two seasons and scored back-to-back tournament wins last spring, giving her three for her career. She first captured the 18-hole Krump Kup and followed that up three days later, by grabbing medalist honors at the Western Michigan Bronco Invitational. Couch enters her senior campaign with a career average of 82.2.
WELCOME ABOARD: Rounding out the Bearcat men's line-up this season are a pair of local products in freshman Peter Heile and Luke Underhill. Heile is a product of the Moeller program, while Underhill joins the Bearcats from Turpin High School.
WELCOME ABOARD, PART 2: Rounding out the UC women's roster for the 2004-05 season are freshmen Allison Mayborg and Hillery Wilson. Wilson, a graduate of Hudson (Ohio) High School signed a National Letter of Intent with the Bearcats, while Mayborg joins the program from Ursuline Academy in Monroe, Ohio.