Golf Team Shows Promise Of Last Season
Germantown, OH (August 27, 2004) Because of all the success the Spartan golf team had last year, this year's team has a lot to live up to, but Coach Russ Wallace feels that the potential is there.
Last year's squad grabbed an SWBL title, nabbed second in the SWBL tournament and advanced to the Districts. This year's crop of golfers have the chance to jump right back in those spots.
Opening the season for the Spartans was the Ryder Cup tournament at Beechwood. The team took seventh place out of 12 teams participating. The following day, Valley View went up against Oakwood, the lone team to beat them in the SWBL last year, and fell 160-171.
Although it was a tough loss, the team jumped back with a 159-179 win over Eaton at Jamaica Run on Tuesday.
The fun didn't stop there. Thursday, the Spartan golfers went up against Bellbrook, another strong league team, and won by a one point difference, 154-155.
"It was a very close match," Wallace noted.
Austin Smith led the team with a 36, followed by senior Kelly Hogg with a 37. Jimmy Lawson recorded a 39 with senior Jon Tipton the Spartans with a round of 42.
Freshman Bud Hostler shot a 43 for the day, while sophomore Stewart Dunn finished with a 45.
The Spartans are off to a good start and are looking to improve as the season continues.
"I'm very excited about the future and that is even yet this year. The seniors are contributing big time. Kelly and John are both key figures in every competition, while the younger kids are showing terrific promise," Wallace said.
"It's exciting to see. I think we have the potential to be as good as last year. We fell to Oakwood, but we still have another chance to see them," Wallace noted.
The Spartans return to action Monday as they host a tournament with Monroe.
"Monroe is fairly inexperienced and we get them on familiar territory at Jamaica Run. We play Milton-Union on Tuesday and that will be a tough one. We have to win from here on out to be able to leap over Oakwood in the league," Wallace concluded.
