2014 CAA Men?s Golf Championship Preview
SOUTHPORT, N.C. (April 24, 2014) – The 2014 CAA Men's Golf Championship is scheduled to begin on Friday morning at the St. James Plantation Founders Club in Southport, N.C. The 54-hole tournament will conclude on Sunday afternoon with the winning team and individual medalist, if not on the winning team, earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship.
Eight member teams will participate in the men’s championship on the par 72, 6,784-par Founders Club. Eight different schools have won the CAA men's golf championship title: former members East Carolina, Georgia State, Navy, Old Dominion, Richmond, and VCU, along with current members UNCW and Towson.
Defending champion UNCW returns three players from last year’s championship group, which won the program’s fifth CAA title. Senior Payne McLeod, who ranks second among the league’s individual players, returns to the St. James Plantation resort joined by classmates Ryan Nagy and Stefan Brewer. Head coach Matt Clark will also welcome freshmen Preston Harrington and Thomas Lilly. The Seahawks enter the tournament ranked third among the league’s eight teams.
College of Charleston, the newest member of the conference, is ranked No. 1 heading into the tournament. The Cougars are led by the league’s top player in sophomore John Jonas, who has a 73.17 scoring average. Junior Zach Munroe ranks among the CAA’s top five golfers and posted a season-low 67 during his most recent outing. Jonas and Munroe will be joined by William Rainey, Josh Lorenzetti and Alex Ellis, who are all ranked among the league’s top 20, in the team’s inaugural CAA outing. Lorenzetti has carded the team’s lowest single round this season at 66.
James Madison, who finished runner-up a year ago, comes to the Founders Club rated second in the league rankings. The Dukes will be led by the sixth- and seventh-ranked players in the league, freshman Ryan Cole and junior Trey Smith. Freshman Poom Pattaropong and junior Jon Weiss, both ranked among the top 15, will also look to make an impact for head coach Jeff Forbes and the Dukes. Cole and Smith have finished in the top 8 in three of their 10 tournaments this season.
Towson, which was crowned CAA Champions in 2010, is ranked fourth going into the weekend. The Tigers will be led by freshman Juan Veloza and senior Joe Gunerman. Veloza, who is ranked fourth, has six top 10 finishes during his rookie campaign and scored a team-low in a single round with 65. Gunerman has won two tournaments and finished in the top six in four outings this season, including medalist last weekend at the Navy Spring Invitational.
William & Mary enters the tournament as the No. 5 seed led by junior Alex Hicks, who is ranked third, and 11th-ranked Davis Morrison. The sixth-seeded Hofstra Pride will be led by junior Brandon Shin, who placed tied for fifth in the 2013 CAA Championship. Drexel, which is ranked seventh, will be led by sophomore Chris Crawford, and Delaware (#8) will be led by senior Dan Costenbader.
On Friday, Delaware and Hofstra will tee-off the 1st tee at 9:00 a.m., while Drexel and James Madison will follow at 9:45 a.m. William & Mary and Towson will begin the split-tee start on #10 at 9:00 a.m. and UNCW and College of Charleston will follow on the 10th tee at 9:45 a.m. Official pairings will be set Thursday evening and will be posted on CAA Men’s Golf Championship Central. Three-hole live scoring will be available via GolfStat.com. Friday and Saturday first tee-times are scheduled for 9 a.m., while Sunday the teams will tee-off at 8 a.m. The tournament will conclude on Sunday afternoon with the award ceremonies.