By Michelle Hantak, Mizzou Student Assistant
Mizzou Golf kicks off the 2014-15 season in Verona, N.Y., looking for its third consecutive win at the Turning Stone Intercollegiate Sunday Aug. 31- Monday Sept. 1.
For the sixth year, Mizzou will host the tournament that takes place on the par-72 Kaluhyat Course at Turning Stone Resort. Eleven teams will be competing in the event including Central Connecticut State, Cleveland State, Detroit, LeMoyne, McDaniel College, Sacred Heart, Seton Hall, St. Peters, Stevenson and Villanova.
The Tigers concluded the 2013-14 season at the NCAA Championship, finishing in 20th with Emilio Cuartero and Ryan Zech earning All-America honors. Mizzou got hot during the postseason and after tying for sixth at the SEC Championships, the squad took third at the NCAA Columbia Regional to advance to the NCAA Championship as a team for the first time since 2005. Head Coach Mark Leroux is entering his 11th year with Missouri and looking forward to working with this year's squad.
"I don't think we build on the success from last year," Leroux said. "That was then and this is now. In athletics, people want to know what you did today, not what you did last season. We will continue to work hard on our short games and to compete against each other here at home. The intra-squad tournaments will really help us prepare for the actual competitions."
All-American Zech will lead the Tigers at the Turning Stone Intercollegiate. The Kearney, Mo., native played the best golf of his Missouri career last spring recording three top-20 finishes during postseason play. Zech's tie for ninth at the NCAA Championship was the best by any Tiger at the event since Rich Poe in 1953. He also took 19th at the SEC Championship and 14th at the NCAA Columbia Regional. The senior captain had his top finish of the year at the 2013 Turning Stone Intercollegiate taking second at 8-under-par. Zech is not only looking forward to competing in his final season as a Tiger, but also leading team as the lone senior.
"This summer I just kept working hard on my game to refine it and played a couple of big tournaments to get good experience, but for the most part I just tried to build off of what I had going at the end of the spring," Zech said. "I've been fortunate to come through the program with some very good upperclassmen players like Jace (Long), Emilio (Cuartero) and Hunter (Kraus) and I've gotten to see what they did and how they interacted with everyone. I'm excited to be in that leadership role and I think we've got the pieces to be successful."
Will Echelmeier is next in the lineup for Tigers and will be making his debut with the traveling team. Last season, Echelmeier competed in the Columbia Regional Preview as an individual. The redshirt sophomore worked hard during the offseason and won the Columbia City Championship by defeating two-time defending champion and Lincoln University Coach Dan Frost by four strokes.
Freshman Luigi Botta of Cueno, Italy, will also be making his debut with the team. Before attending Mizzou, Botta was one of Italy's top junior players, as he won the 2012 Italian Amateur Order of Merit and helped Italy bring home a silver medal at the 2012 European Boys Team Championship. Recently, Botta took fourth at the Belgian International Amateur with a score of 13-under-par.
Euan Walker was a top competitor for the Tigers during his freshman campaign and will once again be looking to make an impact during the first event of the season. Hailing from Troon, Scotland, Walker was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team after posting five top-25 finishes. The sophomore started in every event for the Tigers, ranked third on the team in scoring average, took second at the Columbia Regional Preview and tied for ninth at the Turning Stone Intercollegiate last year.
Columbia, Mo., native Wilson Sundvold rounds out the starting lineup for the Tigers. The redshirt junior had two top-10 finishes last season, both ties for seventh at the Turning Stone Intercollegiate and the Bandon Dunes Championship.
Redshirt sophomore Jacob Fair will compete for Mizzou as an individual. Fair redshirted last year, but put together an impressive freshman season starting in 11 of 12 events. During his rookie campaign, Fair had five top-25 finishes including seventh at the Mizzou Intercollegiate and 12th at the Turning Stone Intercollegiate.
The Turning Stone Intercollegiate begins Sunday, Aug. 31, with 36 holes of continuous golf beginning at 7 a.m. CT. Final-round action will take place Sept. 1 at 7 a.m. CT with a shotgun start.
For tournament updates and more information on Mizzou Golf, follow mutigers.com and @MizzouMensGolf.
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