Fresno State Athletics
Golf Looks to Recapture WAC Title
2/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 7, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - The 2000-01 season looks to be a tough one for the Bulldogs. Graduating six seniors last season leaves only one returning letterman while they have had plenty of golf experience very little at the Division I level. The `Dogs will quickly gain experience as their schedule pits them against some of the best teams in the nation, such as Stanford, San Diego State and Duke.
"Our guys will get a few bumps and bruises a long the way," head coach Mike Watney said. "It will be interesting to watch them gain confidence. Despite the youth of this team, it doesn't take good players long to adjust to the high D-1 level of golf."
Coach Watney is entering his 23rd season for Fresno State. Last season he was voted the Western Athletic Conference coach of the year for the second time after leading the `Dogs to a WAC championship and a No. 13 ranking in the nation.
Sophomore Nick Watney, who was voted the WAC freshman of the year, is the only returning letterman from last year's team. He won three tournaments over the summer and one in the spring season of 2000-01 tieing the course record of 68 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. He qualified in the top 20 at the 2000 United States Amateur and defeated the U.S. Public Links Champion D.J. Trahan in the first round of match play. Golf World Magazine has selected Nick as one of the top collegians in the country after his No. 9 ranking early in the season.
"Nick has gained a dramatically higher level of confidence since winning the tournaments this summer," Coach Watney said. "He carries the respect of national golf officials as well as his own teammates, as evident by their selection of him as a team captain."
The other team captain, Wes Lovell, is the lone senior. Lovell is entering his fourth season for the Bulldogs. He has a career low of 70 and competed in two tournaments last year. Lovell will join Watney to lead the younger less experienced players.
"He has experienced competition at its highest level," Coach Watney said. "He has exhibited the commitment that it takes and has a great attitude about the game."
Junior transfers Jonathan Echols and Dustin Smith both had a redshirt season with the team last year. While they were unable to compete for the team, they had the opportunity to practice with a group of high caliber, nationally ranked golfers every week. Echols, a transfer from the College of the Sequoias (Visalia, Calif.), redshirted last year due to a wrist injury but is what Coach Watney calls a "proven player." Smith has already proven to Coach Watney to be one of the Bulldogs' fiercest competitors. Both have had multiple finishes in the top 30 this season, with each having hit a low of 27.
New to the team this year are freshmen Brandon Coats, Chad Spencer, Daniel Timmons, Brent Vail, Eric Witherall and Tony Harmon. Harmon and Witherall will redshirt this season, but Coats, Spencer, Timmons and Vail will be depended on to compete and contribute to the team immediately.
The youth of this year's team is offset by the abundance of talent they possess. The `Dogs are looking at a year that will prove to be a learning experience but that doesn't mean they won't be strong competitors. They have already turned in some high placings at some of the toughest courses in the nation. Coach Watney is confident in his team, and while not expecting it, would not be surprised to see this team turn a few heads this season.
"This team has got the possibility to improve dramatically," Coach Watney said. "I feel that this is a team that I will be able to develop to a point of being able to tee it up with anyone and have the power to blow most fields away. They may not be ranked fourth this season, but they will definitely grow into one of our strongest teams yet."
