Marquette University Athletics
Men's Golf Gears Up for BIG EAST Conference Championship
4/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 23, 2006
Dade City, Fla. - - The Marquette golf team will make its first ever appearance at the BIG EAST Golf Championship at Lake Jovita Country Club in Dade City, Fla., beginning Monday, April 24. Marquette earned the third seed while Louisville and 2005 BIG EAST Champion Notre Dame are seeded first and second, respectively. The champion of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Golf Championship.
The Golden Eagles share 8:50-9:30 a.m. EDT round one tee times with the Cardinals and the Fighting Irish. Round two action will begin at 1 p.m. EDT with Marquette teeing-off between 1:50-2:30 p.m. EDT. Depending on how the Golden Eagles finish rounds one and two, the third and final round will start at either 8 a.m. or 8:50 a.m.
"We are looking forward to getting on the course for this championship, especially for our three seniors that are in the lineup," said head coach Tim Grogan. "We have the experience and enough talent that we know we are capable of winning. We really haven't talked of winning, but we are going to go out there and play our best. It (the championship) is definitely in the back of our minds, we do want to win. We have been improving in our short game, especially in our putting and decision making, and need to continue to do so."
Marquette's top-five line-up includes seniors Nate Colson, Kyle Murphy and Joe Weber, sophomore Ted Gray and freshman Mike Van Sickle. This will be the first and last BIG EAST Championship for Colson, Murphy and Weber who have been together for four years.
"All three of those guys have played from their freshman years forward," explained Grogan. Together they have brought the Marquette golf program to a high level. This will be their fourth conference tournament together. Over the years, they have played a lot of tournaments together. All three are good friends. I look forward to them playing in their first and last BIG EAST Tournament."
Van Sickle has proven to be the Golden Eagles' spark in the lineup. In the fall, the freshman tallied four top-10 individual finishes with six rounds in the 60s. Van Sickle is coming off a six-under-par performance, 66, on the Orange County National course last Thursday. The Golden Eagles will be looking for a repeat performance from him as they look to contend for the title.
"Van Sickle played well in the fall, he definitely got off to a good start," Grogan said. "He gives a spark to the lineup. He is still playing well in the spring. Hopefully he will have some more scores in he 60s in him for this tournament. He continues to work hard and has been doing well with his putting and chipping."
The Golden Eagles had a successful fall, winning two tournaments, the Cardinal Invitational - BIG EAST contender Louisville finished second behind the Golden Eagles - and the BIG EAST/MAC Challenge where USF finished a distant second to Marquette. Marquette stayed consistent in the spring with top-six finishes in three of four tournaments.
"All five of the players in the lineup contribute. We need to do the little things that we know we are all capable of doing and do them well. We are going to be ready when we get on the course on Monday morning."
