Men's Golf Enters Spring Season With Eye On NCAAs
1/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Jan. 19, 2000
Only half a year into his tenure as head men?s golf coach at Michigan State, Mark Hankins already finds himself in a familiar position.
His team enters the spring season with a solid shot at qualifying for the NCAA Central Regional.
Hankins is in his first season with the Spartans, after leading the University of Texas-Arlington to eight tournament titles and two NCAA regional appearances in his brief two-year stint as head coach.
He is excited about the Spartans? fall performance and is looking forward to the spring.
?The team worked hard this fall and I could have played anyone at any time,? Hankins said. ?The players are going to go through a strenuous off-season and hopefully we will realize the benefits this spring.?
Hankins knows his team improved as the fall season progressed.
?With each tournament we continued to build on things we learned from the last tournament. Everyone got a little more comfortable with my system.?
The Spartans took ninth in the Kansas Invitational, the first tournament of the year, and second in the Adams Cup of Newport, their final tournament of the fall. In between were two fourth-place ties at the Colorado State Intercollegiate and the Northern Intercollegiate, as MSU improved its finish each time out.
The team posted a stroke average of 300.09 for 11 rounds with a low round of 289 at the Colorado State Intercollegiate. Seven different players saw action this fall for MSU as Hankins feels confident in whatever lineup qualifies each week.
The Spartans enter the spring season ranked eighth in the district, with six teams qualifying for the NCAA Central Regional.
Hankins knows there is still room for improvement in the spring and his players will be more comfortable with his coaching style. The Spartans will need that improvement to reach their goal of an NCAA Regional bid.
?We had individuals play well at different times, but as a team we haven?t all come together at the right time,? Hankins said. ?If you prepare correctly and you think you deserve to play well, you will. Preparation is my key, to make sure we have done the best we can in order to be ready to play.?
Hankins also stresses the importance of competition among his players in order to be ready to compete in tournaments.
?The best way I know to prepare for a golf tournament is to compete, and we compete against each other so when a tournament comes around we are ready to compete against other teams,? said Hankins.
Leading the way thus far in the competition for spots in the lineup has been the lone senior on the Spartans? squad, Carlos Foulquie. First on the team with a 74.45 stroke average in the fall, Foulquie had two top-five finishes, the most on the team. Foulquie also shot the team?s low-round of the year at the Colorado State Intercollegiate, a 68. Last year he was second on the team in stroke average (74.64).
?He has an all around solid game and he always works hard at it,? Hankins said. ?Carlos prepares himself for competition really well which is what I would expect from a senior.?
Junior Brent Goik came into this fall following a stellar 1998-99 season. He finished the fall with a 76.36 stroke average and a low round of 70 at the Colorado State Intercollegiate. Goik also added one top-five finish and two top-20 finishes.
?I never have to worry about Brent giving 100 percent, he is a competitor,? Hankins said. ?He went through some equipment changes in the off-season, so he spent some of the fall adjusting. He should be ready to make his full impact this spring.?
Lansing-area native Nathan Clark came into the fall after a great summer and a handful of tournament wins. The sophomore contributed a stroke average of 76.36 and one top-10 finish this fall. His seventh-place finish came at the Northern Invitational, where he shot a three-round total of 223.
?Nathan is very knowledgeable, he knows his game well, and possess a good demeanor on the golf course,? Hankins explained. ?He is also able to adapt well to the courses he plays and knows how to score.?
Two newcomers to MSU golf who had an instant impact on the team are Dennis Riedel and Lorne Don. Riedel is a junior transfer from Akron, where he lettered each of the past two years. He averaged 77.0 as a freshman and cut a stroke off of that average last year. This fall he played in three tournaments for the Spartans, finishing second on the team with a 75.5 stroke average and posting two top-20 finishes.
Don, a freshman from Toronto, had an accomplished junior career which included the AJGA Canadian Junior Championship. He played in the final three tournaments of the fall and recorded a 76.0 stroke average, third on the team.
?Dennis had a nice fall. He definitely was a solid performer and a bit of a surprise, which was something we needed to have,? said Hankins. ?Lorne had a good fall as well. He is a mature freshman and likes to have fun on the golf course.?
Also contributing for the Spartans were sophomores Eric Jorgensen and Gary Kraus. Each played in the Kansas Invitational and will look for more action this spring. Also looking to break into the lineup this spring are redshirt freshmen K.C. Scott, Joe Helminski and John Koskinen and true freshman J.J. Beckstrom.
The Spartans will begin their quest for an NCAA Regional bid in Charlotte, N.C. at the Birkdale Collegiate Classic, the only new tournament on the spring schedule. The team will play five more tournaments along the way, including the Fossum Invitational at its home course of Forest Akers West, en route to the Big Ten Championship in West Lafayette, Ind.