After a fall season highlighted by four top-10 finishes, the Mississippi State men’s golf team is ready to begin its quest for a 2006 postseason bid.
The Bulldogs closed out the fall season with a third place finish at the Squire Creek Intercollegiate and a sixth place finish at the Tunica National Intercollegiate, which clears the way for a successful spring.
“Our main goals have really been the same all year,” head coach Clay Homan said. “We want to finish in the top half of the SEC and then move on to play in the postseason. We only play in six tournaments this spring so we will really have to perform well to give us a chance of playing in the postseason.”
State was led in the fall by freshman Carlos Sainz Jr., who finished the fall season with a 72.56 stroke average and two top-10 finishes.
“I was happy with the way I played this fall,” Sainz said. “I just need to get more consistent and continue to improve every time I go out on the course.”
The Bulldogs have only one senior on the squad with Jared Jimenez and have utilized the strengths of five freshmen on the team.
“The best thing about the fall was that we got our freshmen some playing time,” Homan said. “They got their feet wet in collegiate competition, and that will help them when we start playing this spring.”
While the freshmen have played a solid role in the Bulldog lineup, the upperclassmen have set a strong example for the entire team.
“We have a lot of leaders on this team,” Homan said. “Jared (Jimenez) and our juniors are leading our younger guys by example. They work hard on the course, in the weight room and in the classroom, and it has carried over to all of our players.”
Also returning for the Bulldogs are freshmen Matt Fast and Noah Goldman, along with juniors Greg Huxman and Josh Oller.
The Bulldogs begin their spring season at the Central Florida/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate held in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 13-14. State will compete in three tournaments in March starting with the Seminole Intercollegiate in Tallahassee, Fla., March 5. Then the Bulldogs head to Mobile, Ala., to play at the South Alabama Spring Classic March 13-14.
MSU closes out the month of March at the Carter Plantation Intercollegiate in Springfield, La. The Bulldogs then travel to Auburn, Ala., for the Billy Hitchcock Intercollegiate April 7-9 and close out the regular season at the SEC Championship in St. Simons Island, Ga.
Sainz highlights the same goals and believes that State is ready to have a solid season.
“I think that as a team, we have to get comfortable as we play,” Sainz said. “With the young team that we have, I think that all it will take to be successful will be to have a breakout tournament, and we will be on our way to our goals of reaching the postseason. As a team we want to play in the NCAA Championship at the end of the season.”
If the Bulldogs want to reach their goal of reaching the NCAA Championship, they must have a strong showing at each tournament this spring. MSU must play well at the SEC Championship and play their way into an NCAA Regional.
They must then place in the top-10 of the regional to advance to their main goal of reaching the championship, something they haven’t done since 2000.