Season Preview: Men’s Golf looks for fifth successive top-five finish in Ohio Athletic Conference during 2018-19 season
By Blake Moore
ADA – The Ohio Northern men's golf program enters the 2018-19 campaign seeking their fifth straight top-five finish in the Ohio Athletic Conference under the direction of sixth-year head coach Chad Bucci.
During the 2017-18 season, the men's golf team posted a 25-50-1 overall record and ended fourth at the 2018 OAC Championships held at River Greens Golf Course in West Lafayette, Ohio.
When asked about the upcoming season, Coach Bucci stated, "I really am going in with a new team this year. We have a lot of inexperience, so the mental side of the game will be a large factor in how well we play this season."
Despite his inexperienced roster, Coach Bucci does welcome back three seasoned veterans of the team, three-time lettermen Joshua Turich (Centerville), Nick Anderson (Mason), and David Gorman (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne).
Turich returns as the lone All-Ohio Athletic Conference honoree from last season's squad after placing ninth overall at the 2018 OAC Championships. He would wind up third on the team with an 80.5 stroke-average in 18 rounds.
Additionally, the senior was awarded Academic All-OAC accolades for the second straight season in 2017-18.
Anderson posted a career-low 78.4 stroke-average during 16 rounds of competition a season ago, ranking him first among all returners on this year's squad.
He would serve as a leader in the classroom, too, as he garnered GCAA Srizon/Cleveland Golf Scholar All-American honors as a junior.
Gorman has played in 24 career rounds and recorded a career stroke-average of 84.8 during his three-year career at ONU. Last season, the senior competed in 11 rounds, set new personal bests for a single round (76) and 36-holes (155), and registered an 85.0 stroke-average.
Juniors Ryan Tatman (West Chester/ Lakota East) and Brant Morton (Findlay/Van Buren) each return as two-time letter winners.
Tatman recorded an 80.6 stroke-average last season in 17 rounds of play. The junior finished 32nd overall at the 2018 OAC Championships and earned Academic All-OAC honors.
He will rejoin the program during the spring slate as he pursues an internship opportunity this fall.
Morton, meanwhile, competed in 12 rounds last season and fired an 87.1 season stroke-average.
Sophomores Shane Meek (Port Clinton), Joe Slusher (Covington), and Ethan Smith (Chillicothe/Southeastern) will also come back following freshman campaigns where each received their first varsity letters.
Seven freshmen will make up the remainder of this year's roster and be tasked with competing against the upperclassmen for top spots on the team.
"I have a big recruiting class coming in and I think a handful of them will be able to break into the starting five," Bucci stated of his incoming class. "We will see how these young athletes transition to the college game. Golf, from high school to college, is a different game in both distance and from a mental perspective."
The men's golf fall schedule is set to kick off September 1 and 2 when the program welcomes visiting teams for the annual Polar Bear Fall Classic at Colonial Golf Course. ONU will return to the same course in early October to host the OAC Fall Invitational.
Northern is also scheduled to appear at the Best of the Best in Ohio, Jon Spiess Memorial, Bluffton Fall Invitational, and the Defiance Fall Invitational tournaments during the 2018 fall slate.
The spring 2019 schedule will be announced at a later date.
"We tend to travel close to home during the fall season. It allows the freshmen to establish some structure and focus on academics when they first arrive," coach remarked. "Our team will travel more in the spring as the students become more acclimated to the campus and the competition."