After a 2019-20 season that was halted halfway through by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hillsdale College men's golf team is looking to pick up where it left off in the 2020-21 season.
They'll do so with a lineup that returns almost intact, with only two athletes moving on from last year's squad.
The Chargers are also getting a solid recruit to reinforce the team in the 2020-21 season, adding Will Verduzco (Kalamazoo, MI/Hackett Catholic Prep) to the squad as an incoming freshman.
The top player on one of Michigan's best small-school golf programs, Verduzco helped lead Hackett to their fifth MHSAA state title in program history and their fourth in the last decade in 2019, shooting a 156 to finish as the low score for the Irish and tie for fifth overall individually in Division 4.
That was the second top five state final finish for Verduzco in three seasons at Hackett, as he carded a 147 to finish fifth in Division 4 as a freshman in 2017, and also shot a 153 as a sophomore in 2018 to finish just outside the top 10.
Verduzco also excelled on the summer Amateur circuit, winning both the Golfweek Jr. event at Forest Akers West Golf Course and the Callaway Tour event at Stonebridge Golf Course in 2019, and placing second in the 2018 AJGA Randy Wise qualifier in 2018. He comes to Hillsdale with a low round of 67 and a handicap of 0.7.
As a student, Verduzco was a member of the National Honor Society, graduated with honors from the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center, and received the Scholar Athlete Award and the KAMSC Project Day Blue Ribbon Award in high school.
He was also a volunteer, working with the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission all throughout high school and helping out with Night to Shine, an event hosted by Tim Tebow in 2018.
Verduzco and the Chargers are currently scheduled to start their season on Saturday, Sept. 12 at the USC-Aiken Invite at Kiawah Island in South Carolina, part of five tournaments Hillsdale will compete in during the fall portion of their schedule.
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