Golf

WVIAC Men's Golf Tournament Preview
April 17, 2006

Ohio Valley, winners of six tournaments this season, is a slight favorite as the WVIAC Men's Golf Championship begins play at Cacapon State Park GC on Monday. The Fighting Scots, who top the current NCAA Division II East Region rankings, are one of seven regionally ranked WVIAC squads.

OVU, which swept the league's three regular season events, hopes to improve from last season's third place finish. Sophomore Ben Harwood, freshman J.C. Beecroft, and junior Greg Lemenchick each rank among the East Region's top thirty individuals for head coach Larry Lyons' Fighting Scots.

Charleston and Concord have been battling OVU for top honors in the region and conference all season. The Golden Eagles have a pair of tournament victories in head coach Will Johnson's first season. UC boasts the region's second rated individual as junior Brandon Reece owns a 73.68 average score.

Concord looks for a third straight championship behind junior Darcy Donaldson. The East Region's top-ranked player has won five tournaments in 2005-06 and owns a sterling 72.00 scoring average. Mountain Lion senior Matt Horn was the medalist at last season's WVIAC championship.

Fairmont State and West Liberty State rate as among the top darkhorse threats. The Falcons stand fifth in the regional standings, but have not won a conference men's golf championship since 1992. Junior Jon Burnside is FSU's top player with a 75.42 scoring average. The Hilltoppers seek to snap a frustrating four-year streak of second place finishes. 2005 WVIAC Player of the Year Matt Hicks will play a large role as the Toppers search for their first league title in 30 years.

#8 West Virginia Wesleyan and #9 West Virginia State round out the contingent of regionally ranked squads. Both squads are on the NCAA Tournament bubble as the top eight teams in the region will advance to post-season play.

The 54-hole event concludes on Wednesday. The team winner earns an automatic to the East Region championship hosted by West Liberty State College at Speidel Golf Club in Wheeling on May 1-3.

WVIAC Spring Championships:

4/17-19: Men's Golf at Cacapon State Park Golf Course, Berkeley Springs
4/20-21: Women's Golf at Canaan Valley Resort, Davis
4/20-22: Men's Tennis at Watt Powell Annex Courts, Charleston
4/27-28: Men's & Women's Track and Field at Wheeling Jesuit University
5/4-6: Softball at Jackson Memorial Park, Vienna
5/5-7: Baseball at Hunnicutt Field, Princeton

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