Guilford Golfers Ranked Fifth in Preseason National Poll
Greensboro, N.C. (8/31/07) -- Guilford College’s men’s golf team rounded out the top five in the first Division III Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches' Poll released Friday. Saint John's (Minn.) earned the top ranking, receiving 17 of 21 first-place votes after winning their first ever golf title last spring. The rest of the top five includes Oglethorpe (No. 2), Methodist (No. 3) and La Verne (No. 4). Aside from Saint John's, Methodist and Guilford were the only other schools to receive first-place votes.
Coach Jack Jensen’s Quakers won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) title last season, capturing its league record-tying 10th conference title. The conference title earned the team an automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships where it would be competing for its third national title in six years. The Quakers ended up seventh in the 35-team tournament. Guilford's appearance in the NCAA Championships marked its eighth straight trip to the tournament and its 15th in 16 years of NCAA membership.
Two of last year's seniors, Joseph Poplin and Colin Clark, were top golfers for the Quakers. Poplin, 2007 ODAC Player and two-time All-America golfer, led the league with a 73.00 stroke average last season. Clark was a four-time First Team All-ODAC selection and finished with a 75.01 career stroke average, which ranks fourth in Guilford history. While both four-year veterans will be missed, the future looks bright for junior Burton Wood and sophomore Peter Latimer. Wood earned Second Team All-ODAC honors last season, while Latimer took home Rookie of the Year honors.
Guilford will open its season Sept. 21-23 at the Sea Trail Intercollegiate in Sunset Beach, N.C.
August 29 Golf World/Nike Division III Coaches' Poll |
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Rank University (First-place votes) 1 Saint John's (Minn.) (17) |
'07 NCAA Finish 1st |