Fresh off the news that its program will be cut at the end of next season, the AU Men's Golf team stumbled through its first two spring events.
Sophomore Adam Kolloff replaced senior Phil Kief for the last roster spot as the Eagles fell to 11th place at the Emerald Coast Collegiate in Florida and a season-worst 15th out of 15 teams at the Birkdale Collegiate Golf Classic in Charlotte, N.C.
The finishes are the team's worst consecutive losses in more than a year. In the first tournament the Eagles finished with a combined score of 916, 52 strokes over par and 62 strokes off the lead. In the second tournament, the men carded a team score of 986, 122 strokes over par and 134 strokes off the lead.
In the Emerald Coast Collegiate, Kolloff led the way for the team in the individual standings, carding a 2-over-par 218 (73-70-75) en route to a tie for 12th place. Freshman Alex Wenzel's 224 (+8, 74-73-77) was good enough for 29th place, while sophomore Todd Shagin's 230 (+14, 76-75-79) earned him 47th place in the individual results.
Rounding out the scoring for the Eagles were freshman Howard Smith and Billy Lacey, who finished in 70th and 71st place, respectively. Smith shot a 248 (+32, 84-81-83) while Lacey carded a 250 (+34, 85-86-79).
Afterward Shagin expressed his concern that the team had come unprepared.
"I'm disappointed in the fact that we have to pay our toughest competition when we've practiced the least," Shagin said. " It really makes things harder on us, and it puts addition pressure especially on the young guys."
Troy University won the Emerald Coast tournament, carding rounds of 283, 276 and 295 en route to a team total of 854, 10 strokes below par. West Florida University's Matthew Galloway and Troy's Steve Sims tied for individual honors, carding a 6-under-par 210.
In the second tournament, not only did the men finish in last place, but the individual results also suffered. Kolloff once again was the high finisher, carding a 19-over-par 235 (76-85-74) en route to a tie for 53rd place. Shagin was not far behind in second place for AU, firing a 236 (+20, 79-77-80) en route to a 58th-place tie. While their scores were not the best, the true debacle came with the freshmen.
AU's freshman cadre of Wenzel, Lacey and Smith were three out of the only seven golfers at the tournament not to shoot a round below 80. Lacey's final-round 92 was the worst round of the tournament for any golfer, and Smith was the only golfer to post consecutive rounds in the 90s. Wenzel finished with a 252 (+36, 86-84-82) to tie for 77th place, while Lacey and Smith came in 83rd and 84th, second to last and last, respectively, with rounds of 264 (+48, 85-87-92) and 268 (+52, 87-90-91).
"I've been having a serious problem with my swing, hitting it extremely far to the left, nothing I could do was working out there," Lacey said. "It seems like 92 is a very, very high score, but it's very easy to shoot 92 when you can't even get an 8-iron straight."
University of Charlotte won the Birkdale tournament, posting rounds of 291, 283 and 278 for a team total of 852, 12 strokes below par. Charlotte's Andrew DiBitetto won the individual title with a 9-under-par 207 (74-65-68).
Despite the poor play, Shagin still feels the team can recover.
"We have a lot of golf left and we are making the necessary adjustments," Shagin said. "We plan on doing well in conferences at the very least."
The team's next tournament begins Friday at the East Carolina University Spring Invitational.
