The Virginia men’s and women’s golf teams spring into action this weekend with their season-opening tournaments.
The men’s team travels to Sugar Grove, Ill., where they will participate in the Northern Intercollegiate, a tournament the Cavaliers won last fall. Virginia’s hopes of a repeat victory will be difficult to realize, as Illinois, the nation’s top-ranked team, will be among the competition.
Other teams in the tournament include Louisville, Ohio State and Kentucky, all of which carry top-50 national rankings in the latest Golfweek poll. The Cavaliers currently reside as the 28th-ranked team in the country in the same poll.
Coach Bowen Sargent, entering his 12th full season at the Cavaliers’ helm, discussed Virginia’s lack of experience among the current eight-man roster and addressed the loss of three-time All-American Denny McCarthy, who graduated in May. Sargent, though, expressed enthusiasm for the start of the fall season.
“Obviously it’s hard to replace a guy that was a three-time All-American,” Sargent said. “But we won [the Northern Intercollegiate] last year without him. We have good vibes from last year, having won it.”
Sargent also gave special mention to returning players junior Derek Bard and senior Nick McLaughlin, both of whom had excellent summers and have stepped up as leaders for this year’s squad, he said.
“Derek’s had a great summer, Nick had a great summer,” Sargent said. “This summer those guys certainly stepped into leadership roles.”
The women’s team, on the other hand, heads down to Charleston, S.C. for the three-day Cougar Classic, a tournament the team placed fourth in last fall. The Lady Cavaliers, who currently rank 16th in Golfweek’s national rankings, will be pitted against 15 other teams, including Wake Forest, Mississippi State and Furman, all of whom also rank in the top 50.
Coach Kim Lewellen, who is entering her ninth season leading the program, expressed a great deal of confidence in this year’s team, which boasts a plethora of new and returning talent.
“We have a very strong team this year. We have a lot of depth, which is really exciting,” Lewellen said.
The one concern the Lady Cavaliers may have heading into the weekend will be that two of their returning starters, senior Elizabeth Szokol and junior Lauren Diaz-Yi, are both coming off late spring injuries and have not competitively played since last year’s NCAA tournament, in which the Virginia placed 20th. However, Lewellen said that both looked ready to play and that she plans to put them both in the starting lineup.
Competition in Charleston runs from Sept. 13 to 15, while the men take the course in Sugar Grove from Sept. 12 to 13.
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