The Wheeling University Men's Golf team get their postseason underway this Thursday, May 7th, as they travel down to the beautiful Sunnehanna Country Club for the NCAA Atlantic/East Regional Championships, concluding on Saturday, May 9th. It will be the programs first appearance in the postseason, with the top 3 teams advancing to the NCAA DII National Championship.
It has been a long season of hard work for the men's golf team, who this year have entered a new era under Head Coach Thadd Obecny. When Obecny was introduced as head coach of the men's golf program, he made it clear that qualifying for the regional tournament was the team's primary goal. A positive and consistent spring rounded out with a top 5 finish for the Cardinals last time out at the Bedford Springs Invitational was well enough to book them a tee time in Johnstown this week. Freshman Elias Ekenes-Fosback emerged with a standout performance at the event, shooting scores of 72 and 75 for a top 10 finish, whilst Sophomore Zak Collins strung together scores of 76 and 73 to place T19. Graduate student Sean Dobson wasn't far behind, bouncing back from a struggling 78 on round 1 with an even par 72 on day 2 to place in a tie for 27th.
Obecny also noted in his pre-tournament interview that the Atlantic/East regional tournament this year is "wide open", with no team(s) being clear favourites to punch their ticket to Boulder Creek in a couple weeks. As they go into Sunnehanna, the Cardinals have beaten or tied every team in the regional field at least once this season, something that will surely bolster confidence and reassure the team as they complete their preparations.
Further fortifying Cardinal confidence this week will be their performance at the Sunnehanna Collegiate, their last event before the MEC Championships in the fall. Played at the same course, the Cardinals put together what would be one of their best results of the season, as they placed in a tie for third in a field almost identical to the regional one this week, with the exact same lineup that will be starting on Thursday.
It is clear that the Cardinals have the quality and experience to put together a special performance this week in Johnstown, and will go into the week with nothing to lose. Wheeling tees off for the first round on Thursday morning at 8:20 AM, with Cardinal tee times on the second day beginning at 11:40 AM.
