Colonels golf team has tough outing but gains valuable experience in opening tourney
Nicholls’ golf team showed its youth, finishing last in a field of 16 in the Argent Financial Classic at Squire Creek Country Club in Ruston hosted by Louisiana Tech.
Fielding three freshmen, a sophomore, and a senior in the competition that ran from last Sunday through Tuesday and was the first event of the fall season, the Colonels finished at +75 with a 939-team total.
“It was definitely not the finish you would hope for, but it was somewhat to be expected when you have the number of first-year players, which was four out of five,” Nicholls coach James Schilling said. “That’s a golf course that requires a lot of experience more than we had this week.”
As a team, the Colonels had rounds of 315, 305, and 319.
“I had talked to my guys about this after the first round; it’s a golf course that is very difficult, but the par-5s are something you can score on,” said Schilling. “We didn’t do that the first round and we didn’t do that the last round.
“After the first round, I told the team that you can’t play the par-5s over par in Division I. We played them much better the second round and that’s mainly why the scores went down. Then (in the final round), we had a poor round by Mike (Najmark), who is our senior, and it kind of went from there.”
A positive note for the Colonels was the 74 shot by Chase Pochylko in the second round.
“Chase is probably one of our top freshmen right now based upon qualifying scores going into the tournament and everything else. He’s a really good player. I would expect him to be traveling to most events that we have. He’s a hard worker and a bright young man. He has a bright future ahead of him,” Schilling said.
There was a three-way tie for first place among the University of Alabama-Birmingham, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and Southern Mississippi.
All finished at -9 with a team total of 855.
Houston was fourth at -7 and 857 total. Rounding out the top five was Middle Tennessee State at -5 and 859 total.
Owen Stamper of Middle Tennessee won the individual honors at -13 and a 203 total.
Santiago De La Fuente of Houston and Khavish Varadan of UAB tied for second. Both shot a -11, 205 total.
There was a three-way tie for fourth place among Michael Barnard of Middle Tennessee, Zane Heusel of Abilene Christian, and Mark Stockdale of Central Arkansas. All shot a -6, 210 total.
For Nicholls, Pochylko finished tied for 81st at +13 and 229 total.
Zachary Morvant, a sophomore, was 90th at +24 and a 240 total.
Jack Moro, a freshman, and Najmark tied for 91st at +25 and a 241 total.
Thomas Danielson, a freshman, was 93rd at +25 and a 244 total.
The Ruston event, Schilling said, was an eye-opening experience for his young squad.
“Through the scores, they learned how difficult this can be,” the Nicholls coach said. “Division I golf, and the golf courses are designed and set up – especially when you are playing schools from Conference USA, the American (Athletic) Conference and stuff like that – the courses are designed to separate the field.”
“If you are just a little off on courses that we know where we play, the scores aren’t going to be that drastic,” Schilling continued. “When you get on the road and you don’t know the courses, that’s what tournament golf is designed to do – separate the field.
“That’s what you saw. You saw us where we finished and then you had large schools like South Alabama at the bottom of the field. It’s not having your best week. It can happen to any team.”
Continuing to search for the right combination lineup, Schilling said, will continue with the Colonels next competing at Tennessee-Martin’s golf tournament Monday and Tuesday.
“We will change the lineup,” said Schilling. “We will continue to experiment with it. We will probably have three new players or so in the lineup whenever we go to Tennessee and play in Tennessee-Martin’s tournament in Jackson, Tenn., which will be a little different format. That will be 36 holes on Monday, continuous play, and then 18 on Tuesday.”
