There's palpable excitement surrounding the Hillsdale College men's golf team as it's set to kick off the 2020-21 campaign next week.
A large group of returners from the 2019-20 team that saw an up-and-down season suddenly cut short in March by the Covid-19 pandemic has led to plenty of optimism about the team's chances in their first full year under new head coach Matt Thompson.
"Because we didn't get a lot of time to work together in the spring, it's just been very exciting to get everyone back on campus and get back to something approaching a normal feeling," said Thompson, who took over as interim head coach of the Chargers in February, just a few weeks before the pandemic hit, and was named head coach on a permanent basis in April. "I think there's great potential here and everyone is very excited about the possibilities for this season."
After an uncertain summer spent with the fall season in doubt, the news that the Great Midwest Athletic Conference was moving forward with competition in sports considered low or medium-risk was a huge relief to the Charger men's golf program, and paved the way for a four-event fall schedule, starting with a two-day event hosted by the University of Findlay at Findlay Country Club on Monday, Sept. 21.
That event, with several G-MAC and regional foes competing, will be a chance for the Chargers to get back in the flow of outside competition and see where they stand early in the year. Fans can watch along at home with featured coverage of four holes on each of the two days of the tournament. The video link for the action on Sept. 21 is here, and the video link for Sept. 22 is here. You can also see live results from the event at this link.
"Our goal for them is to play with confidence and be aggressive on the course," Thompson said. "It's still early in the season and it'll take a little bit of time to shake the rust off, but our emphasis for these guys is to approach every round with the confidence that if they play well, they have the ability to win tournaments. That's the mind-set I want to see from them this weekend."
The Chargers return all nine of the golfers it most frequently entered in events in the 2019-20 season, led by sophomore Josh Davenport (Binley, England/King Henry VIII), who became Hillsdale's first individual winner in three seasons by taking the Midwest Regional title in a playoff last season.
Davenport is backed by the return of seniors Ryan Zetwick (Castle Rock, CO/Rock Canyon) and George Roberts (Hampshire, England/South Downs College), regular scoring golfers for the Chargers for multiple years who put off graduation to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility they received as relief from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Juniors Logan Anuszkiewicz (Jackson, MI/Jackson College) and Luke Girodat (Jackson, MI/Lumen Christi) also return, and Hillsdale can call on several underclassmen who made an impact in last year's shortened season, including sophomores Drew Gandy (Midland, MI/Midland) and Jack Rowe (St. Paul, MN/St. Thomas Academy) and second-year freshmen Carson Stohler (Fort Wayne, IN/Canterbury) and Gerry Jones Jr. (Suffolk, VA/Homeschooled), among others.
The Chargers are excited about potential contributions from their lone incoming freshman, Will Verduzco (Kalamazoo, MI/Hackett Catholic Central) as well as they look to find the right lineup for the spring and a make a push for the G-MAC crown and success at the NCAA DII Midwest Regional.
"We've got a very talented team, a deep team and a group of very competitive guys," Thompson said. "Last year, we might have been a little on the younger side, but a lot of these guys have played in multiple collegiate tournaments now and I think that experience will help us compete with the better teams in our conference and our region."
For the full fall men's golf schedule, visit here.