Golf: UMass Lowell in Position, Eyeing NCAA Tournament Bid

LOWELL, MA (Jan. 7, 2008) – From the moment he was tabbed to lead the UMass Lowell golf program, head coach Gary Mucica has made no secret of his vision: to rank with the elite teams in New England, and perhaps the country.

In the fall season of 2007, River Hawks took a giant step toward that goal, and entering the spring, the River Hawks currently rank No. 5 on Golfstat’s Division II rankings with an average team score of 309.79. Translated, if the NCAA East-Northeast Super Regional was held today, UML would be seeded No. 5 among the eight qualifying teams.

“Four years ago our intent was, by this point, that we should be a contender with anyone we compete with, within the Northeast-10 Conference and the region,” Mucica said. “And we are there. Every time we enter a tournament, we feel we are as good as anyone in the tournament if we play to our potential. And it’s a nice place to be.

“The most rewarding part is that it’s a moving target,” Mucica added. “The quality of play of all the teams has increased. The bar is consistently getting higher and with us continuing to improve, it is particularly rewarding. From a recruiting standpoint, players are seeking us out now. We’ve become a sought-after program.”

Compared to the last three seasons, the fall 2007 season results are staggering, highlighted by five players who shot consistently in the 70s while the others hovered in the low 80s.

Certainly, the River Hawks will need an equally strong showing in the spring to maintain their standing. If the fall was any indicator, his team will be up for it.

UML won its first invitational this fall – the Southern New Hampshire Invitational behind junior medalist Robbie Douglas’ 75-71—146 – since being reinstated as a varsity program three years ago.

Perhaps more impressive was the team’s showing at the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association (NEIGA) Invitational, in which the River Hawks placed seventh among 42 NCAA Division I, II and III teams.

There were other tournaments that certainly helped, including a fifth-place showing (among 16 teams) at the Dowling September Shootout; and an eight-place effort (among 21 teams) at the ECAC Championship.

UML hosted the NE-10 Tournament for the first time (UML will host the 2008 Tournament as well) and was voted recipient of the NE-10 Sportsmanship Award. “That underscores how we are viewed by our peers,” Mucica said.

Mucica would be hard-pressed to choose a most valuable player from his team. For each tournament, for example, it seemed UML had a different team medalist.

Numerically, four players were interchangeable, led by junior Anthony Gallardo, who averaged a 75.36 and was the runner-up medalist at the NE-10 Championship; Douglas, who averaged a 77.17; sophomore Patrick Bean (79.42) and freshman Andrew Albrecht (79.67).

Gallardo and Douglas, who transferred to UML over the summer, made an immediate impact and both finished the fall ranked third and 15th, respectively, among the top 30 Northeast Region players.

Albrecht (43rd) and Bean (49th) narrowly missed the cut for the top 30, but are realistic possibilities to break through in the spring.

In a sport where intrasquad competition is healthy, UML has plenty of it. Freshman Anthony Ullo shot an average of 80.50 and sophomore Chris Lyons (81.00) and junior captain Tom Thiesing (81.50) were right behind, consistently challenging.

Also notable was the play of freshman Zak Koch, who posted an 82.50; freshman Tom Ayala (82.00 in three non-NCAA tournaments) and junior Matt Bagdovitz (78.00).

“What really helped us was that we got a couple of key transfers and some strong incoming freshmen,” Mucica noted. “We probably have as good a depth as any team in the conference as well. If we lose a guy any given week, there’s really no drop-off. I think that has made it a lot more competitive for starting spots. The idea of entering non-NCAA tournaments is building our reserve strength.

“The thing is that we’ve had good players in the past, but lacked depth,” Mucica added. “But now we’ve got good players and good depth.”

UML opens the spring season Mar. 6-8 in Myrtle Beach, SC, for the Fairfield University Spring Invitational and returns to the same course a two weeks later for the Pace University Spring Invitational Mar. 19-21.

Following the Goldey-Beacom Invitational Mar. 30-Apr. 1, UML enters the Yale Spring Open (Apr. 4-6), which is followed by the Bentley Invitational (TBA) and the Le Moyne Spring invitational (Apr. 11-13).

The American International College Yellow Jacket Invitational caps the spring regular season on Apr. 22-23.

“The first priority is getting off to a good start at the Fairfield and Pace Tournaments,” Mucica said. The big one of all is going to be the AIC Tournament, which ends the regular season. It’s the last event before NCAA competition. We’re hoping to go there locked into the regional, but (the AIC Tournament) will carry a great deal of significance. Almost anyone who has a shot at the regional will be going to that event. That will be a great finish top the spring season.”

The NCAA Tournament East-Northeast Super Regional is slated for May 5-7 in New Castle, DE.

“If we get to the regional, we’re not going glad just to be there. We’re going with the expectation of winning and going to the national championship, which is a long way from four years ago,” Mucica said. “Our starting team is all underclassmen, so we expect to maintain our stature going forward.”