Dixie State University’s golf teams are set to tee off their respective seasons.
Men’s
Men’s head coach Brad Sutterfield said he is extremely excited for the upcoming season.
“We have a lot of talent,” Sutterfield said. “The past three years of recruiting has really put us in a good position. We have a lot of returning talent and also some new guys who I think can make an immediate impact. This is a good group of kids, they’re hard working and fun to be around, so I’m definitely looking forward to the season.”
DSU is returning four players from last year’s Pacific West Conference Championship team, including All-American Kenny You, a senior communication major from Sandy. You won a team-high three tournaments last season and was named the 2015 PacWest Player of the Year.
“[You] has set the tone for this whole program,” Sutterfield said. “He has been great for us.”
You said he understands the pressure put on him but is focused on the team as a whole.
“We are looking pretty good,” You said. “I will be expecting us to compete in every tournament we play. We have all the talent in the world, now we just have to go out there and do it.”
The Storm are also returning sophomore Donny Hopoi, who finished fifth at the conference championships last season. Senior Tyson Tanner and sophomore Dane Nelson are also coming back after contributing last season.
DSU began its season last weekend at the Saint Martin’s Invitational in Olympia, Washington.
Four of Dixie State’s five competitors finished in the top-20. You shot a two-over par and finished tied for fifth.
The team also competed in the Western Washington Viking Invitational in Bellingham, Washington. Andrew Chu and Kenny You finished in first and second place respectively, leading the Storm to its first victory of the season.
DSU will head to the Western New Mexico Regional Preview next Monday and Tuesday.
Women’s
Women’s head coach Rachel Harmon said she is pleased with the outlook of her team’s season.
“We look really good,” Harmon said. “We have a lot of depth on our roster with four or five girls who can compete right now. We have a good mix of maturity and youth with the five seniors and five underclassmen.”
Returning to lead the Storm is junior Cobair Collinsworth and senior Shelby Madden. As a duo, Collinsworth and Madden posted a scoring average of 81.5 last season.
They will try to fill the shoes of All-American Haley Dunn, who is now serving as a student assistant for the Storm.
Dunn, who led the team to a conference championship team last season, said this team could be even better.
“I think we’re going to improve from last year,” Dunn said. “There’s some strong returning players and some freshman who just need some tournament experience to get them going. They have a great chance of qualifying for regionals and possibly even nationals.”
The team got the season going this week at the Western New Mexico University Invitational. Collinsworth and Madden paced the Storm to an eighth place finish out of 20 teams. Collinsworth shot a one-over-par and Madden shot two-over on the tournament.
Next up for the Storm is a trip to Denver for the Metropolitan State University open Sept. 28 and 29.
