Provided by CACC Associate Commissioner Doug DeBiase
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - -The 2021-22 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Golf season gets underway this weekend with several teams in tournament play. Eight schools will be competing in the sport this season, as all teams will have to gear up quickly with the 2021 CACC Men's Golf Championship being held Oct. 3-5, at Watertown Country Club in Connecticut.
The 2021 conference championship will feature a new format with 54 holes being contested for the conference crown, including the first two rounds on Monday, Oct. 4, and the final round on Tuesday, Oct. 5.
Below are team capsules on all eight programs heading into the 2021-22 campaign:
CHESTNUT HILL COLLEGE
Junior and team captain, David Schmidling, brings a wealth of experience and leadership qualities to the team this season. Schmidling worked hard on his game over the summer months and has seen steady improvement each season throughout his time at CHC. Senior, Ryan Woelfling, has been very consistent and is expected to continue that solid performance in tournaments this fall. Talented Junior, Drew Maiorca, and young standout Sophomore, PJ Schulte, are two players who will also be a steady and consistent contributors to the Griffins team scores in events this Fall.
DOMINICAN COLLEGE
The Chargers return three members from last season's squad which won the CACC Championship at White Beeches Country Club in Haworth, N.J. Two Dominican golfers to keep an eye on this season are Alexander Lundvall (2021 CACC Individual Medalist) and Alejandro Gomez Cervantes, who is the reigning CACC Golf Rookie of the Year.
FELICIAN UNIVERSITY
Golden Falcon head coach Joe Ambrose enters his third season, but due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, his first full campaign. Ambrose has scheduled 11 rounds over five meets for the fall season, including the CACC Championship event, and hopes to host a match for the first time in program history during the spring semester. Gone to graduation are the top two Golden Falcons in career scoring average, record holder Jake Storako and No. 2 Christian Lauchaire. Both were 2021 All-CACC honorees. The No. 3 man on Felician's all-time stroke average list, senior Gonzalo Maldonado Felices, heads a group of three returnees. Sophomores Dylan Molloy and Nathan Sampson are also back.
GOLDEY-BEACOM COLLEGE
Freshman Hunter McGee enters after being named CACC Player of the Year, the second straight season he was picked all-conference. He notched two victories last year and was ranked first in the East Region, according to GolfStat, with a 73.86 average. He also won his second straight Ottawa Citizen Golf Championship by carding 208 over three rounds to win by an incredible 23 shots. Freshman Pablo Saenz Avila was picked to the All-CACC Team for a second consecutive year, averaging 79.71 over seven rounds. He closed tied for fifth at the Griffin Invitational with 159, including a final-round 77 and was 11th with 80 at the CACC Championship.
POST UNIVERSITY
The men's golf team returns top players Riley Card, Felix Hinderthuer and Bill Koch; all seniors on a team that finished third in the 2019 CACC Tournament (no 2020 season). All three finished in the top 16 of that tournament, with Hinderthur finishing T8 (+10). The Eagles lost top players Ben McKenna and Anthony Guerrera who were on the 2019 team. Notable newcomers are Jace Carlisle, Ethan Phillips and Ian Wivestad.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SCIENCES
Rising junior Tyler Blake's tied for 12th finish at the Spring 2021 CACC Championship was tied for the second-highest CACC Championship finish in program history. He now holds two of the five-highest CACC Championship finishes in program history after tying for 18th as a freshman in 2019. Along with Blake, fellow rising junior Andrew Rush was part of the foursome that recorded the program's best-ever CACC Championship team total in 2019. In addition to returning Blake and Rush, USciences also brings back Matthew McCaffrey and Gracious Anithanam, while adding six newcomers.
THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY
Jefferson is a young squad as the Rams lost their top three players based on scoring average from 2020-21. The top returner is sophomore Mitchell Thompson who posted an 87.6 average last season. He led the Rams at the Wesley Invitational, tying for eighth place overall.
WILMINGTON UNIVERSITY
The team returns three members from the 2019 team that won the CACC Championship; Tyler Cleaves, Ali Ladak, and Nathan Potts. Of the returners, only Tyler Cleaves competed in the 2019 CACC Championship, finishing second overall by shooting a 76-73 for a 149 (+5). The Wildcats have welcomed five new student-athletes over the past two academic years. Senior Carlos Coeto from Mexico, junior Matthew Pulgini from Delaware, and freshmen Jan Lekes from the Czech Republic, Rory Huycke from Calgary, and Pablo Quintero from Colombia.