Spartans Men's Golf Cracks the Top 10
7/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 17, 2007
Spartanburg, S.C. - As the USC Upstate men's golf team prepares for the NCAA Division II National Championships next week in Michigan, the team's quick rise in college golf has now been reflected in the Golf World/Nike Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Spartans have moved up two spots and have cracked the Top 10 with a No. 10 national ranking.
Upstate is one of six Peach Belt Conference schools to earn a Top 25 national ranking. With six of the eight first-place votes, Columbus State is ranked second in the latest Top 25 poll behind top-ranked Florida Southern. Georgia College & State is ranked seventh and is followed by Upstate (10th), USC Aiken (14th), Armstrong Atlantic State (16th), and Lander (T19th).
With just one upperclassman, Upstate has had a strong 2006-07 season, highlighted by a tremendous spring. Upstate has claimed one team championship at the Johnny Palmer Memorial last September. This spring, however, the Spartans have maintained a high level of consistency, turning in top five finishes in all seven tournaments, including three second-place finishes and two third-place efforts. Upstate finished second at the Peach Belt Conference Championships and Baxter Culler won the league's individual title. Upstate finished fourth in the NCAA Southeast Regional last week in Savannah, Ga., and is one of 20 teams to qualify for the NCAA Nationals to be played at The Meadows in Allendale, Mich., May 22-25.
Upstate's men's golf team is in just its second year of existence following a 14-year hiatus. The University fielded a men's golf program during the 1980's as a member of NAIA, but disbanded the program in 1991. The program was reestablished in 2004 and began competition in 2005-06, earning its first ever NCAA Regional berth. This year's Spartans are making their first trip to the NCAA Nationals.
