Men's College Golf: St. Edward's University: Season Preview
2013–2014 season preview
men's GOLF
The 2013–2014 St. Edward’s University men’s golf team reached the NCAA National Finals for the fourth time in program history and, by doing so, extended its streak to 11 consecutive years of advancing to postseason play. The Hilltoppers finished in 11th place, just four shots out of the match play portion of the national championship. The team also set a program record with six tournament titles (the 2007–2008 team had six first-place finishes but lost in a playoff at the NCAA Championship). There will be big shoes to fill, since all-region selections Enrique Livas and Brian Smith (two-time Cleveland Golf GCAA All-America Scholar) and role player David Arismendy graduated after last season. “It is going to be extremely difficult to replace those three. They each brought so much to the program and will be missed,” said head coach Todd Ohlmeyer, who enters his seventh season on the hilltop.
TEAM Senior Jose Hernandez will lead the way. The 2013–2014 Heartland Conference Player of the Year, three-time all-region selection and Cleveland Golf GCAA All-America Scholar has the opportunity to become the most decorated golfer in program history and rewrite the record books. “Hernandez has had an outstanding career as a student-athlete by excelling both in the classroom and on the course. He has the potential to play in every tournament over the course of his career and is on pace to be the leader in most statistical categories,” added Ohlmeyer. Other seniors Andres Rodas, Paul Drinkwater and Kameron Kubis will be relied on for quality play and leadership if the Hilltoppers are going to make another postseason run. Rodas posted four top-10 finishes last year, including a fifth place finish at the NCAA West/South Central Super Regional. Drinkwater and Kubis are expected to maintain a consistent spot in the lineup. Sophomore Dillon Van Essen had a breakout season last year. He became the first Hilltopper freshman to capture All-American honors behind his fifth place finish at the NCAA Championship. He was also named the Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year and was a member of the all-region team as well. “Van Essen’s consistency was a huge part of our success last year. It is also nice to know that he can go low at any time,” Ohlmeyer said. Other key pieces to the team will be sophomores Joey Hearn, who transferred from UC–Colorado Springs, and Jay Hogan, who transferred from the University of Colorado, along with freshman Andrew Liu. Hearn and Liu were teammates with Van Essen at Lake Travis High School in the Austin area.
SCHEDULE The Hilltoppers are returning to some familiar sites this year but have added a tournament in California at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club, the site of the 2015 NCAA West/South Central Super Regional. The team will make two trips down I-35 to play in events hosted by St. Mary’s and another trip to Florida to challenge the best teams in the South Region at Florida Southern’s Matlock Invitational. The team will also make its annual trip to Connecticut to participate in DI Yale University’s home event, the Macdonald Cup. In 2014, the Yale Golf Course was voted the “Best University Course” in the United States by Golf Digest. Each year, the Hilltoppers’ strength of schedule ranks among one of the most difficult in the country and South Central Region. This year is no different. “Playing a difficult schedule is the best way for us to prepare for the postseason. It may affect our win-loss record at times, but if we want to win a national championship, we need to play against the best as often as possible. Also, some of our players have aspirations of playing professionally after college, and there are no ‘easy weeks’ in professional golf,” Ohlmeyer said.
OUTLOOK St. Edward’s will look for its 12th-straight postseason appearance in 2014–2015 and attempt to return to nationals for the fifth time in program history. The national championship will be contested at Rock Barn Golf Club in Hickory, N.C. Rock Barn has been the host of a championship tour event for a number of years. “The Hilltoppers had a taste of how close they were last year and would like to take that next step and get into the match play portion of nationals,” Ohlmeyer said. “We have a competitive, talented team who will continuously push each other this year.”
Learn more about Hilltopper men's golf at: GoHilltoppers.com
men's GOLF
The 2013–2014 St. Edward’s University men’s golf team reached the NCAA National Finals for the fourth time in program history and, by doing so, extended its streak to 11 consecutive years of advancing to postseason play. The Hilltoppers finished in 11th place, just four shots out of the match play portion of the national championship. The team also set a program record with six tournament titles (the 2007–2008 team had six first-place finishes but lost in a playoff at the NCAA Championship). There will be big shoes to fill, since all-region selections Enrique Livas and Brian Smith (two-time Cleveland Golf GCAA All-America Scholar) and role player David Arismendy graduated after last season. “It is going to be extremely difficult to replace those three. They each brought so much to the program and will be missed,” said head coach Todd Ohlmeyer, who enters his seventh season on the hilltop.
TEAM Senior Jose Hernandez will lead the way. The 2013–2014 Heartland Conference Player of the Year, three-time all-region selection and Cleveland Golf GCAA All-America Scholar has the opportunity to become the most decorated golfer in program history and rewrite the record books. “Hernandez has had an outstanding career as a student-athlete by excelling both in the classroom and on the course. He has the potential to play in every tournament over the course of his career and is on pace to be the leader in most statistical categories,” added Ohlmeyer. Other seniors Andres Rodas, Paul Drinkwater and Kameron Kubis will be relied on for quality play and leadership if the Hilltoppers are going to make another postseason run. Rodas posted four top-10 finishes last year, including a fifth place finish at the NCAA West/South Central Super Regional. Drinkwater and Kubis are expected to maintain a consistent spot in the lineup. Sophomore Dillon Van Essen had a breakout season last year. He became the first Hilltopper freshman to capture All-American honors behind his fifth place finish at the NCAA Championship. He was also named the Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year and was a member of the all-region team as well. “Van Essen’s consistency was a huge part of our success last year. It is also nice to know that he can go low at any time,” Ohlmeyer said. Other key pieces to the team will be sophomores Joey Hearn, who transferred from UC–Colorado Springs, and Jay Hogan, who transferred from the University of Colorado, along with freshman Andrew Liu. Hearn and Liu were teammates with Van Essen at Lake Travis High School in the Austin area.
SCHEDULE The Hilltoppers are returning to some familiar sites this year but have added a tournament in California at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club, the site of the 2015 NCAA West/South Central Super Regional. The team will make two trips down I-35 to play in events hosted by St. Mary’s and another trip to Florida to challenge the best teams in the South Region at Florida Southern’s Matlock Invitational. The team will also make its annual trip to Connecticut to participate in DI Yale University’s home event, the Macdonald Cup. In 2014, the Yale Golf Course was voted the “Best University Course” in the United States by Golf Digest. Each year, the Hilltoppers’ strength of schedule ranks among one of the most difficult in the country and South Central Region. This year is no different. “Playing a difficult schedule is the best way for us to prepare for the postseason. It may affect our win-loss record at times, but if we want to win a national championship, we need to play against the best as often as possible. Also, some of our players have aspirations of playing professionally after college, and there are no ‘easy weeks’ in professional golf,” Ohlmeyer said.
OUTLOOK St. Edward’s will look for its 12th-straight postseason appearance in 2014–2015 and attempt to return to nationals for the fifth time in program history. The national championship will be contested at Rock Barn Golf Club in Hickory, N.C. Rock Barn has been the host of a championship tour event for a number of years. “The Hilltoppers had a taste of how close they were last year and would like to take that next step and get into the match play portion of nationals,” Ohlmeyer said. “We have a competitive, talented team who will continuously push each other this year.”
Learn more about Hilltopper men's golf at: GoHilltoppers.com
