By Mike DeSanto
Sports Editor
A youth movement has swept through the St. Bonaventure University golf team, bringing together a group of sophomores and freshmen who have found success on the course.
“[I] really couldn’t be happier with where [the freshmen] are and how they made it through the winter,” Head Coach Ryan Swanson said. “As for the sophomores, [I] kind of feel the same. Brent [Morgan] played very well and Matt Abendroth also played very well in his three matches. They both had a couple rough patches but that’s expected in the first time out after a long winter layoff.”
One young golfer that has found particular success, especially in the opening event of the spring, Atlantic 10 Match Play, is Nolan Ditcher; he won two of three matches at the event and fell just one hole short of tying the third.
Ditcher averaged a score of 79 over three tournaments played during the fall.
A major part of Ditcher’s development comes from the help of the team’s upperclassmen, who have been able to build upon their experience to guide such a young team.
“Without a doubt, the older guys on the team have been leaders and role models on the course,” Ditcher said. “Their experience is priceless to the development of us younger guys, and their performance and work ethic sets a great example for the rest of us to follow.”
Fellow freshman Zach Chaddock got plenty of experience over the fall, playing at all seven tournaments the team participated in and averaging a score of 77.22 over those tournaments. Chaddock also played at Atlantic 10 Match Play, falling short in two matches and tying in his third.
Chaddock said while his play wasn’t his best to open the spring, he feels confident with what he did between seasons.
“It’s tough knowing how your practice indoors all winter will translate to the course, so the match play format was a perfect way to ease back into playing competitively,” Chaddock said. “Also, I believe my preparation over the winter helped to make the transition to playing on the course an easy one. There are definitely some things that could use some tuning up, but overall I was happy with the performance.”
Sophomores Brent Morgan and Matt Abendroth have also contributed to the team’s success, finishing with three draws between them in match play. Morgan entered the spring averaging 77.17 over seven tournaments and Abendroth averaged 77.33 over seven.
Chaddock said the youth of the team provides major opportunities going forward.
“I think that the sophomore and freshmen on this team have the potential to grow our program into one of the best in the A10,” Chaddock said. “Brent and Matt [are] both phenomenal players who can play just as well as the best players in the conference. Nolan is also a talented player who is really starting to bring his game around. I’m excited to see where we can take the program in the next two or three years, especially with next year’s incoming freshman.”
According to Chaddock, the team is not the same one that arrived on campus back in August.
“I have seen the whole entire mentality of our team change throughout the year. We aren’t happy with just good enough,” Chaddock said. “After experiencing a team win at Binghamton over some very good teams, we gave ourselves reassurance that we can win tournaments. We have always known that we were good enough to be at or near the top of the leaderboard every tournament. It was a matter of finally getting a win under our belts’ and some other quality finishes to really prove it to ourselves.”
Swanson affirmed the need for tenacity amongst his team, especially the young members of the roster.
“I kind of preach we’re not going to take a backseat to anybody, and I want them to know that they can tee it up with anybody,” Swanson said. “They can go toe-to-toe with anybody else in the conference, and I think they’re starting to believe that a little bit. They played pretty well last week and they came pretty darn close to knocking off some of the best players in the conference from VCU and Richmond.”
The Bonnies will hit the course again this weekend when they play in the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate tournament on Saturday and Sunday.
desantmj13@bonaventure.edu
