The University of Akron Athletics
Zips Golf team set to begin 2007 Season
September 07 | Men's Golf
– The 2007 season will get underway for The University of
Akron men's golf team Monday when they travel to Chattanooga,
Tennessee to participate in the Scenic City Invitational.
The Zips, who finished a best-ever second place at the Mid-American
Conference Championship last year, will have the opportunity to
play at the Council Fire Golf Club. The par-72, 6,999-yard course
is the home of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
UT Chattanooga is coming off its own historic 2007 year in which
the Mocs won four team titles, including the Southern Conference
Championship, and advanced to the NCAA Regional Championship for
the first time.
Akron will be under the tutelage of first-year head coach Nick
Goetze as it takes to the links for the first time this fall.
Goetze, a three-time All-American as a collegiate golfer at
Clemson, led Mississippi State to the 2000 NCAA Championship as the
program's head coach, while leading MSU and University of Texas at
El Paso to a total of three NCAA Regional berths. Additionally, he
helped Florida to an NCAA Regional as an assistant coach, had two
stints as a professional golfer (1994-96 and 2003-04), and worked
in private business for the past two years.
"I am excited as a new coach to see my team out on the road and see
how they handle pressure situations," Goetze said. "I am looking
forward to seeing them in action."
The five players seeing action this week are seniors Colin
Clemente (Hubbard, Ohio/Warren JFK) and Ryan
Gutowski (Copley, Ohio/Copley), junior Vaughn
Snyder (Massillon, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic), sophomore Jacob
Patte (Oshawa, Ontario/Eastdale Collegiate) and freshman Drew
Davidson (Canton, Ohio/Canton Central Catholic).
Clemente, who ended strong last season with a ninth-place finish at
the MAC Championship, was voted second team All-MAC and claimed two
MAC Golfer of the Week awards last year.
"We had a four round qualifier to see who would go to the first
tournament," Goetze said. "These five guys separated themselves and
I think it will give them a lot of confidence to do well this
Monday."
Other teams participating in the Scenic City Invitational include:
Charlotte, Furman, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana State, Mercer, Ole
Miss, Mississippi State, Middle Tennessee, Oklahoma, Francis
Marion, Southern Mississippi, Southeastern Louisiana, South
Florida, Virginia Commonwealth and Western Carolina.
