The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Golf On Right Track After Victory At Bradford Creek Intercollegiate
April 06 | Men's Golf
April 6, 2006
AKRON, Ohio - When the 2005-06 campaign began, there were many questions on the minds of the golfers competing for the University of Akron, including how the program would run under first-year head coach Donnie Darr and how the team would fair beginning the season short two of four upperclassmen. Last Saturday, some of those answers started to become clear.
For the first time in nine years, the Zips emerged from a weekend tournament with a team title. Freshmen Vaughn Snyder (Massillon, Ohio-Canton Central Catholic) and David Addison (Stewarton, Scotland-Stewarton Academy) posted the first one-two sweep in an event in school history and Snyder gave Akron its first title sweep, team and individual, since Al Stevenson (1959-62) and the Zips swept the individual and team Ohio Athletic Conference championship medalist spots in 1961.
"One thing that I preach to this team is that everything is done as a team, from practice to school to competition," Darr said. "Last week we had two players play great and three players play ok, but as a team we won and that is a team success."
The changes in Akron's play on the course is evident when
looking at the score cards. In 188 rounds last season, the Zips
posted six rounds in the 60's, all by Blake Sattler (New
Philadelphia, Ohio-New Philadelphia). So far this season, in 112
rounds, Akron has dropped into the 60's 11 times, with six of seven
golfers recording at least one round in the 60's. Ryan Culbertson
(Wooster, Ohio-Wooster) leads Akron with four sub-70 rounds while
Addison was just one stroke from the 60's over the weekend with
back-to-back rounds of 70.
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With five guaranteed tournaments on the schedule and the possibility of play in the Central Regional and NCAA Championships, two Zips, Snyder and fellow freshman Brad Wright (Cambridge, Ohio-Cambridge), are within one stroke of the single-season school record average of 72.9, set by Greg Boyette during the 1997-98 season. That record is under fire for the second-straight season as Sattler fell short of the record last season by .24 strokes per round (73.14).
"The younger players have brought a fresh outlook to the team and are comfortable with that," Darr said. "They have a drive and desire to be successful and to change the face of the program. That drive is pushing everyone to practice harder and to step up their game."
With Sattler missing the entire 2005-06 campaign due to a medical redshirt and junior Matt Considine (Akron, Ohio-Archbishop Hoban) missing the fall season after spending a semester studying international business in Scotland, the pressure was on for the freshmen to fill in the gaps.
"I think that pressure is overrated at times and that if you work hard, you will be successful," Snyder said. "We knew that we were going to be without the leadership of Matt and Blake, but we were willing to make the effort to be successful anyways. We are starting to reap the benefits of our hard work and are pushing ourselves harder and harder each day."
Wright, Snyder and Addison have helped the Zips to a 74.15 average in the fall, almost a three-stroke per round improvement from last fall (77.07). The trio have been golden in seven tournaments, posting one victory, three top-10 and four top-25 finishes while posting a 74.66 average.
However, as well as the freshmen have been playing this year, it is near impossible to ignore the play of the veterans on the team. Culbertson, Ryan Gutowski (Fairlawn, Ohio-Copley), Colin Clemente (Hubbard, Ohio-Warren JFK) and Sean Dove (Bulger, Pa.-Burgettstown) have played just as an important part in Akron's successes as the freshmen.
"Our upperclassmen have done well to show the younger players how to prepare themselves and how to be successful on the collegiate level," Darr said. "With Blake and Matt redshirting and the talented core of younger players in the program, the outlook for the program is very positive."
Culbertson holds the team's best round of 66 (The McLaughlin, 9/23/05) and needs just three sub-70 rounds to break the single-season school record, set by Sattler last season. Combined, the group is averaging 75.19 strokes per round and has two top-10 and four top-25 performances.
A lot of the team's success this season comes from the confidence that the players carry with them every time they tee off; however, that confidence has a source. Darr's outlook on golf and coaching style has instilled a new drive towards success in the program.
"Coach (Darr) is willing to do anything to help us out and to work with us to improve our game, both mentally and physically," Gutowski said.
"With Coach Darr and his style of teaching the game, we are able to get to the point of just playing golf and playing to our potential," Snyder said. "He challenges us every day and keeps us from falling into the rut of just going through the motions of our swing and our game."
So, what's next for the Zips this spring? There is the possibility of the team's first conference championship since Akron's 1961 OAC victory. Akron has a chance to stamp its ticket to the NCAA regionals and the NCAA Championship tournament, something the program hasn't done as a Division I school. That trip would be the first for the Zips since playing in the 1977 Division II NCAA Championship tournament.
"I think we are going to surprise a lot of people, bringing a better and more confident game to the course," Gutowski said. "With Vaughn and the other freshmen boosting the program and the upperclassmen playing well, we will continue to improve and bring a drive to win every time we are on the course."
The Zips return to action on April 7 at the Marshall Invitational, but Akron fans will get a chance to see the linksters in action this month when the Zips host the 2006 FirstEnergy Intercollegiate at the Firestone Country Club April 29-30.
