USI
Men’s Golf 2004-05 Outlook
The future is bright for USI men’s golf
The University of
Southern Indiana men’s golf team can not wait to begin the 2004-05 season
after a strong finish this spring.
USI Head Coach
Matt Scheessele and the Screaming Eagles
finished just strokes away from earning an invitation to the NCAA Division II
Super Regional and had an impressive third place showing in the GLVC
Tournament. These results bode well for next season with four of USI’s top
five golfers returning for 2004-05.
In his first season, Scheessele used the fall to get to know his team. By the
time the spring arrived, he had a squad that was capable of competing with the
region’s top teams.
The Eagles were led in 2003-04 by senior Nathan Wolfe, the one player
Scheessele will have to replace next fall. Wolfe led the team with an average
78.0 strokes per round (spr) over 14.5 rounds of action and tied for eighth in
the GLVC Tournament with a 155 (73-82).
While the Eagles will be losing a strong team captain, Scheessele returns four
players that solidified the USI line-up and set the stage for the team spring
resurgence.
The player making the biggest strides at the end of last season was senior
Craig Toler.
Toler shot 78.2 spr in the spring, 5.3 strokes better than his fall average.
He also was USI’s top golf in two of the five tournaments during the spring.
Toler was followed in last spring by juniors in
Jason Pinkstaff
and Christian Farley.
Pinkstaff finished the year second to Wolfe on the team with an average 79.0
spr and led the team in a pair of tournaments this spring. Farley finished the
team with an average 79.4 after leading the team with a 77.7 average during
the fall season.
Farley also led the Eagles three of the four fall tournaments and at the
Indianapolis Invitational during the spring.
Adam Bolerjack,
who shot a consistent 81.3 spr, also made an impact by improving during the
spring season. He showed flashes of becoming a capable collegiate golfer,
shooting a 77 in the second round of the GLVC Tournament and a 75 in the first
round of the third Great Lakes Regional Tournament.
The Eagles and Scheessele also anticipate larger contributions from four more
returning players – senior Mike
Heider and sophomores
Blake Horner,
and Justin Shuler
– in 2004-05.
Scheessele begins this fall with six newcomers -- one junior and five
freshman.
Junior
Matt
Fonner
transfers to USI after playing
for Parkland Junior College the past two seasons. He was named to the 2004
All-Conference team and finished 31st as an individual at the NJCAA National
Tournament. Prior to attending Parkland, Fonner was a four-time letterwinner
at Champaign Central High School.
Beginning their collegiate careers at USI are
Cory Bolerjack,
Blake Hilliard,
Brandon Howard,
Eric Morlock, and
Ted O'Brien.
Cory Bolerjack will joins his brother on the team this fall after helping
to lead Carmi-White County High School to the 2003 Regional Championship. The
2003 CWHS MVP also helped lead the Bulldogs to a third-place finish in the
Black Diamond Conference and a fifth-place performance at sectionals.
During his four seasons at CWHS, he helped CWHS to three conference
championships and third and fourth-place finishes in the Illinois State
Tournament.
Hilliard comes across the Wabash River from Olney, Illinois, and East Richland
High School where he lettered in golf and basketball. The four-time
All-Conference performer was the Apollo Conference medalist and placed second
as an individual in the regional during 2003.
Teammates at Mt. Vernon High School, Howard and Morlock travel down
the road from Mt. Vernon, Indiana, to join the Screaming Eagles this fall.
Howard, a two-time All-Big Eight Conference performer at MVHS, was the
sectional medalist and a regional qualifier in 2002 and 2003. He also was the
Evansville Junior Golf City Champion and Player of the Year in 2003.
Morlock, who lettered in golf, tennis, and basketball at MVHS, was the team’s
Most Valuable Player in 2003.
O’Brien comes to USI from Heritage Hills High School where he lettered in
golf, basketball, soccer, and cross country. His 14 letters in the four sports
were the most ever earned by an HHHS student athlete.
The 2004 Wendy’s High School Heisman national nominee earned an appearance in
the Indiana State Finals and was the sectional champion with a record score of
69 during the spring. O’Brien also earned a trip to the state finals in 2003
and was named All-Conference as a golfer during the 2001 and 2004 seasons.
In amateur golf, O’Brien was the runner-up in the Mt. Dew Tour in 2003 with a
scoring average of 72. He also qualified for the Optimist International Golf
Tournament in West Palm Beach, Florida, three times since 1999.
