GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's golf team returns to action this week as they travel to St. Augustine, Florida for the 2022 Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate. The two-day, 54-hole event will be held at the St. Johns Country Club and hosted by Lincoln Memorial University.
Head coach Ross Cash and his Pioneer squad are coming off a successful fall campaign. Tusculum finished third or better in every fall event including a team title at the Matt Dyas Invitational.
This year's 22-team tournament field features some of the strongest teams NCAA Division II including South Atlantic Conference members Tusculum, Lincoln Memorial, Anderson, Newberry, Wingate, Queens, Lenoir-Rhyne, Limestone and Coker. This year's field also included eight of the 11 teams listed in this season's inaugural NCAA II Southeast Region rankings including TU, LMU, Belmont Abbey, North Georgia, Erskine, Newberry, Limestone and Barton.
The Pioneers have been posting some outstanding performances during the fall which includes 16 combined top-20 performances including 11 top-10 showings and seven finishes in the top-5. TU golfers captured medalist honors twice including sophomore Dominic Barron Holden.
Holden finished in the top-10 individually three times including twice in the top-five and is coming off the winning the individual medal at the Dyas Invitational. He leads the team with his 70.7 scoring average and has shot in red numbers in four of his seven competitive rounds. The 2021 All-South Atlantic Conference honoree also finished runner-up at the Richard Rendleman Invitational.
Senior Nicholas Marchese has qualified to make the trip to Florida this week. He has a 73.0 scoring average this fall and has posted two top-five outings including a third place finish at the Dyas Invitational and shot an even par 71-69=140 at the King Invitational, good enough for fourth place.
Freshman Liam Hermansson posted a 73.8 scoring average in his four events last fall. He tied for fifth in his collegiate debut at the King Invitational and followed with a nine-place showing at the Rendleman Invitational, which included a season-low 68 in the opening round.
Sophomore Liam Van Deventer has a 74.1 stroke average after his three fall tournaments. He posted back-to-back top-15 performances at the King Invitational and Rendleman Invitational.
Junior college transfer Riley Brown had some solid performances in the fall including a runner-up finish at the State Farm Challenge, posting scores of 68-69=137 (-7). The Glendale Community College transfer earned NJCAA Division II All-America first team laurels a year ago.
This will be Tusculum's fifth straight year appearing at this event.
Tusculum enters the spring campaign ranked ninth in the latest NCAA Division II Southeast Region Poll. The Pioneers will play in six events this spring which includes the 2022 South Atlantic Conference Championship, hosted by Tusculum at Graysburg Hills Golf Club.
