Young Nicholls golfers get first taste of competing in conference championship

A year ago, most of the Nicholls men’s golf team were preparing for the prom.

Monday through Wednesday, they will be playing for a collegiate conference championship.

When the Colonels begin play in the Southland Conference Men’s Golf Championship on Monday at the Comanche Trace Golf Club in Kerrville, Texas, youth will be served.

The Colonels who have logged the most competitive rounds have been freshman and a first-year transfer.

Chase Pochylko, Jack Moro, Thomas Danielson, and Dylan Weber are all freshmen. Diego Prat Cruza, a junior college transfer, is in his first year as a Colonels. Collin Jones, another freshman, and sophomore Zach Morvant also have seen some competitive action.

“I’m excited about the team,” longtime Nicholls coach James Schilling said. “The progress we have made from the fall semester to the spring has been quite a bit. That’s not merely my opinion. You can go based on the scores and look at the scores we are shooting and what the players are shooting in relation to the entire field.

“We still need a little more production out of the four and five spot and try to do it for three rounds. We were very competitive the last tournament, especially when you consider the youth we have on the team.”

The last tournament was the Koasati Pines Intercollegiate tournament in Kinder, LA. Nicholls finished seventh out of 11 teams with Pochylko barely missing out on cracking the Top 10. Most of the Colonels shot in mid-70s and avoided a bad single round that had plagued the team earlier in the season.

“With the willingness I’ve had to continue to play the freshmen, it’s good to see that the freshmen have also responded and improved,” said Schilling.

The format for the event has a few features that will be new to the Colonels in competition.

One of the changes from regular-season competition is the makeup of the squads.

“I had to focus on getting down from the total-team roster to the final six. From that six, that will give me my traveling group. From that six, I still have to have to come up with a roster for my top five who will be for the first tournament round,” Schilling explained. “After that round is complete, I can evaluate again and see if we need to make any changes.

“That sixth player may not play at all or he may play a good bit. That’s a different mindset for the players, especially the freshmen. You have to be OK knowing you may get benched and out of the top lineup.”

While the golfers will play 54 holes like the regular season, they will be played over three days. Instead of a 36-hole marathon on the first day and 18 holes the second day, the conference tournament will feature 18 holes each day for three days.

“You will have more of a regimented approach,” Schilling said. “Barring any weather, you know when you are going to tee off. You know how much time you are going to have. Coaches are allowed to plan better as far as what he’s going to do on the golf course, where he’s going to be instead of running around all over the place, trying to handle the different things you that handle on a 36-hole day.”

The lack of the fatigue factor that sets in after a long first day of 36 holes will not be in play.

“It’s not just for us. You noticed it for all teams,” said Schilling. “You saw it at Koasati Pines, we were seven-, eight-under as a team – some of that has to do with the holes you finish on – but you see it across the board.

“We had a weather delay there, so you’re talking about student athletes being on the competition course for 12 hours. These kids are getting up at 5:45, 6:00, and they are still out there at 7:00 eating and competing through 12 hours.”

Along with Nicholls, others competing in the event are full Southland members Lamar, Southeastern Louisiana, New Orleans, Incarnate Word, Houston Christian, and Texas A&M-Commerce. Also taking part are affiliate members Augusta University, Bryant, and Francis Marion.

Among individuals, Lamar’s David Schneider Jeres goes into the event with the lowest stroke average of 71.00 He is followed by Ryan Klis of Augusta and SLU’s Grayson Gloriso, both at 71.25, and Kyle Bennett of UNO at 71.81.

Augusta is seen as a heavy favorite. Not only does Klis sport a stroke average of 71.25, none of Augusta’s other golfers in the lineup have an average higher than 73 – quite a departure from most of the other schools.

Augusta, which produced Master’s champion Patrick Reed, also has held its own during the regular season, taking part in events involving top schools from the Southeastern Conference.

“Not only can I see Augusta winning, I can see them advancing from the regional. That’s saying something when you’re in the Southland,” said Schilling.