2010-11 Men's Golf Preview
8/31/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
The Pirates enter their seventh season under the tutelage of head coach Clay White and this year's squad may be the most talented in his tenure. Seton Hall is coming off of their third straight finish in the top-third of the BIG EAST Conference Tournament and return four starters from a team that finished only four strokes behind the 2010 champion.
"You always feel good when you're returning four of the five members that competed in the BIG EAST," White said. "I'm pretty sure that the scores we counted were primarily from those players. So you have to be encouraged about that."
Seton Hall will employ a seven-man roster for the 2010-11 academic year, which features five veterans and two newcomers. The team will have a distinct international flavor this year as for the first time there are more foreign student-athletes than those who are America-born on the roster. Freshman Gary Dunne, from Wicklow, Ireland, and John Dawson Neufeld, a junior college transfer from Calgary, Canada, will both look to make an immediate impact on this year's squad.
"I think both players can compete right away for a position in our lineup," White said. "Adding them will dramatically improve our team's depth. They're good kids who've already shown impressive leadership qualities."
Dunne and Neufeld will take two of the roster spots of graduated seniors JC Cardamone, Ryan Castanet and David Sampson.
"Both are really good players," White said. "John has played in college in many tournaments and has had some success, so you'd hope that will continue here at Seton Hall. I've talked to him this summer and he seems really excited. Gary has won some tournaments here and in Ireland. You hope those two guys not only fill in for, but can be better than what we're losing in our seniors."
Colin Van Es is the Pirates' lone returning four-year senior. Last year, he competed in eight of 10 tournaments, had two top-10 finishes and fired a team second-best 75.10 stroke average during the fall season. His 2-over-par, 76-73-69-218, at the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate led the team and placed him third among all golfers. This year, Coach White is looking for leadership and consistency.
"As a senior, he's got to step up big time," White said. "He's a great player. I think if he puts his mind to it, and makes golf a priority, he can be outstanding this year. He has the type of swing that requires a lot of maintenance, and therefore, he plays his best when he's working on his swing the most. His consistency is a direct result of how much work and time he puts in."
The Pirates' other senior may be primed to have a breakout season. A native of Barcelona, Spain, Borja Faixat proved last year that good things come with playing time. After playing in only two tournaments as a sophomore, he participated in six events last season and finished the year with a 75.07 scoring average for the year, which was second-best on the team.
"Borja was a really good junior player in Spain," White said. "But when he went to UT-Arlington, he really didn't play much. He didn't have much of an opportunity to make a difference. Since he's been here, he's started to get back the game he displayed overseas. He can really make some strides this year. He certainly has the talent to be a regular starter for our team."
With two years under his belt, Troy Spencer returns for his junior year with big expectations. The recipient of Seton Hall's Male Athlete of the Year for the freshman class in 2009 and the sophomore class in 2010, he has competed in every tournament the last two years and finished 2009-10 with a 75.50 scoring average. The High Point, N.C. native finished second on the team with a 7-over-par, 71-72-77-220, at the 2010 BIG EAST Championship.
"We have yet to see Troy play his best golf," White said. "He wants to win, he's determined and he wants to take the program to the next level. He's very adamant about that. He's talked about that since he got here. Troy just needs to put in a little more effort on his game. I think he can average a 72 or 73 if he works hard. As a team, we need more sub-par rounds from him. We need his bad days to be a 74 or 75 and his really good days to be 66 or 67. He's capable of doing that."
Jamie Shirley, a native of London, England, is entering his second year on the roster. Shirley saw action in only one tournament as a freshman, Seton Hall's own Lincoln Mercury Invitational. Coach White wants him to elevate his game and push for the back of the lineup.
"Some of Jamie's results in England were very good, he just wasn't able to make many of our lineups last year," White said. "To be good as a team, you have to have depth. We need the bottom three or four guys to always be fighting and competing to make the lineup. We need Jamie to push the others."
One of last year's highlights was the emergence of one of the top young golfers in the BIG EAST Conference. Brandon Park will enter his sophomore year as a legitimate contender for an individual conference championship. Named 2010 BIG EAST Freshman Golfer of the Year, Park competed in all 10 tournaments and led the Pirates with five top-10 finishes. The Cypress Bay, Florida native also led the team in fall stroke average (74.92), spring stroke average (73.00) and overall 2009-10 year stroke average (73.88). He Led the Pirates and tied for eighth among all golfers at the 2010 BIG EAST Championship with a 4-over-par, 75-73-69-217 and finished second at the Cavalier Classic with a career-best 2-under-par, 69-73-142.
"Brandon is a great kid and golfer," White said. "He's very dedicated. I think his upbringing has a lot to do with that. His father pushes him hard and his grandfather is a very big influence. He is very goal oriented. In this game, anyone can win a tournament. But it takes consistency, talent and dedication to work on your game to be a legitimate title contender. Brandon has those characteristics. No one has won an individual title since Kyle Morris, but I think Brandon has some victories coming in the near future."
Seton Hall has a talent group of returnees, a pair of newcomers that will give the roster its most depth in years and a highly competitive schedule that will pit the Pirates against some of the nation's elite golf programs. This year's team has the talent to win a team title in the ultra-competitive BIG EAST. For Coach White, it comes down to a question of desire.
"If we're going to win it'll be because we worked for it, put in the time and wanted to win," White said. "They need that desire. They need to hold themselves accountable. It's not a matter of us having enough talent or the right players. This year it will be whether or not we have the desire. 'D and A'... desire and accountability. Do we have it?"
