Golf 2008 Fall Wrap-Up

The University of the Cumberlands golf teams finalized their fall season with both teams competing in five tournaments over the past two months.

The men’s team earned several honors within the past two months of play.

Freshman, Pierre Carlsson (Oxelosund, Sweden) was named to the University of the Cumberlands All Tournament Team. Junior, Joey Bussdieker (Monroe, MI) was named to the Mid-South Conference (MSC) Fall Tournament All Tournament Team and was the Jack Shadwick Invitational Champion earning a low individual 36 hole score – 144(E). Junior, Michael Burgan (Dry Ridge, KY) was also a part of the MSC Fall Tournament All Tournament Team as well as the Don Bishop Invite Individual Runner-Up, Georgetown Invite Individual Runner-Up, and achieved a Low Individual 18 Hole Score – 70 (-2) at the Campbellsville Invite. Another Individual who stepped up to the ranks was sophomore, Adam Rivera (Valencia, Venezuela) who was named to the Don Bishop Invite and the Georgetown Invite All Tournament Teams.

While the team did have some incredible individual honors, they also earned several honors as a team. They were the Mid-South Conference Fall Tournament Champions, Jack Shadwick Invitational Runner-Up, and the Don Bishop Invite Runner-Up. The team had a low 18 hole score – 292 (+4) and a low 36 hole team score – 595 (+9). The team also had their best ranking in the #26 GCAA Men’s Golf Poll as of September 9 th as well as a Golfstat rating of #33 as of October 20 th. The men ended their season with a record of 31-7-1.

Although the team had their fair share of ups and downs this fall season, Coach Chris Kraftick said, “Overall it was a solid semester for the men. Winning the Fall MSC Tournament was the highlight and that puts us in a great position for the spring legs of that event.”

Individuals have had their time in the spotlight as well. Kraftick said, “This is a very talented team that played well at times, but we could never get everyone on the same page at one time. It is a National Tournament worthy team and hopefully we can go out this spring and prove it.”

The ladies also had several achievements of their own. Sophomore, Kayla Peace (Williamsburg, KY) proved to be a valuable asset to the team. Peace was named to the University of the Cumberlands All Tournament Team, Mid-South Conference Fall Tournament Team, as well as the Don Bishop Invite All Tournament Team. Kayla also had the low individual 18 hole score – 78(+6) and the low individual 36 hole score – 159(+15). The team as a whole was the runner up in the University of the Cumberlands Bill Sergent Invite. The team had a low 18 hole team score – 339(+51) and a low 36 hole team score – 688(+112). The ladies finished the fall season 37 th in the Golfstat rankings. They ended their season with a record of 15-16-1.

The ladies got a small taste of what they can really achieve. Coach Kraftick reflected on the season saying, “I am really proud of the leap our women’s program has taken in such a short time,” said Kraftick. “Our girls experienced success this semester with a 2 nd place finish in our home tournament and a 3 rd place finish at the conference tournament. I felt we began to play with confidence and did a lot of growing up over the course of the semester. I look forward to a good off season in preparation for a tough spring schedule.”

The Patriot men will begin their spring season on March 9 th at the Rome Times Tribune Invitational while the women will begin play on March 2 nd as they participate in the Murray State Invitational.

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