Aug. 27, 2009

After making their 12th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and the 14th in program history, the Baylor Bears have become a perennial postseason contender. In 2009, the Bears fell six shots short of advancing to just their fifth NCAA Championships appearance in program history and first since 2002. But, while the Bears did not advance to Toledo’s Inverness Club as a team, sophomore Cody Paladino became the program’s first golfer to qualify as an individual at the NCAA Championships.

In 2009-10, the Bears will rely on the now-junior Paladino to guide them to their first Big 12 title since 2001, their 13th straight NCAA appearance and their ultimate goal – a berth in the 2010 NCAA Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. And, head coach Greg Priest, who enters his seventh season at the helm of the Baylor men’s golf program, believes the Bears’ 2009 finish will only make them stronger in 2010.

“Last year, we were able to win three tournaments, including some of the biggest Baylor’s ever won,” Priest said. “We struggled during the latter part of the year, but we pulled it together and made a good run at the NCAA South Central Regional. A potential spot in the NCAA Championships came down to the last nine holes in Stillwater, which put these young guys under a lot of pressure.

“But being under that kind of pressure in that environment will only benefit us,” he added.

Paladino, who finished last at the Big 12 Championship and rebounded with a third-place finish at the NCAA South Central Regional to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships, missed the first few days of the fall 2009 semester. On Aug. 11, Paladino qualified for a spot in the 109th U.S. Amateur Championship in Tulsa, Okla.

“I believe Cody will be the main guy we’re going to look to carry the team this season,” Priest said. “He’s the most accomplished player on this team, having played on some of the biggest stages at the amateur level. He got a taste of the NCAA Championships as an individual last season, but he wants to share that great experience with his teammates – he wants to return as a team.”

Baylor returns seven letterwinners from last season’s roster, including senior Ben Wright and Paladino’s junior classmates Austin Berkovsky and Michael McKinley. Wright, a walk-on last season, graduated in August and is enrolled in graduate school, but returns to the Bears’ lineup for a second season.

“Ben was one of the walk-ons that made the team last year,” Priest said. “He was able to compete in a couple of JV events and did a good job. He’s one of the hardest workers that we have and, if he continues to work hard, improve and push other guys with that effort, he could challenge for a starting spot.”

Berkovsky, a native of Aledo, Texas, transferred to Baylor after the 2007-08 season and competed in six tournaments last season for the Bears, including the Big 12 Championship and NCAA South Central Regional. McKinley has competed in two tournaments as an individual in his career, including the 2008 Baylor Intercollegiate.

“Austin transferred into the program last year after competing in one tournament at Arkansas as a freshman. He competed in a few tournaments for us at the beginning, but didn’t compete again until the end of the spring. His hard work and dedication paid off in the end as he jumped in and played at A&M, Big 12 and the NCAA Regional. He’s one of our most talented golfers with a ton of potential and we are looking for him to contribute a lot this season.

“Michael is one of the oldest on this year’s team,” Priest said. “He’s competed in a few tournaments in his career as an individual. He’s coming off one of the best summers he’s had at Baylor and this season is his time to take the next step to compete for one of the starting five spots.”

INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE

Priest describes Baylor’s sophomore European trio of Mikkelsen (Norway), Morten Bergan (Norway) and Lorenzo Scotto (Italy) as the “core of our team” and expects big things from these three underclassmen.

Mikkelsen emerged as one of Baylor’s best golfers in 2008-09. Mikkelsen competed in all 13 tournaments as a true freshman, finishing the season ranked second on the team with a 73.45 stroke average. He led the team with an impressive 90.1 percent of his 38 total rounds counting toward Baylor’s overall team score, posting three top-10 and seven top-20 finishes.

“Don’t let his size fool you – he’s probably our most talented golfers and he’s one of the toughest competitors I’ve ever coached,” Priest said. “He had a great freshman year and he’s setting himself up for a really, really good sophomore campaign.”

Scotto, Baylor’s second international sophomore, competed in 10 tournaments as a redshirt freshman. Scotto finished tied for ninth in his debut at the Hartford Hawks Invitational and later finished 11th at the Border Olympics.

“I’m really proud of Lorenzo,” Priest said. “He came over and struggled as a true freshman. He kept a great attitude and fought through it where most kids would have packed it in. He returned home, found his game and came back to the states and made significant improvement.

“Last year, he thought he was coming with us to Stillwater as a spectator, but he ended up being a last-minute substitution for Bill (Allcorn),” he added. “Not many people could do what Lorenzo did at Regionals last season – grab his clubs and jump in 10 minutes before his tee time as a substitute. It takes someone special to do that.”

At the season’s midway point, Mikkelsen was joined by fellow countryman Bergan, who competed in six spring tournaments for the Bears. His best finish came at the Border Olympics, where he finished tied for 20th. The 2009-10 season will Bergan’s first full year in Waco.

“With international players, it takes a while to adjust,” Priest said. “Morten played the first few tournaments of the spring, but started to struggled toward the end of the year. He wasn’t used to playing that many tournaments in a row.

“He left Baylor early and went home to rest, improve his game and work on his technique. We’re relying on these core guys to get us to NCAAs.”

NEWCOMERS

Joining Baylor’s four returning upperclassmen is Michigan State transfer Payne Gniewek, who will be eligible to play for the Bears in 2009-10. Gniewek, the second NCAA Division I golfer to transfer to Baylor in two years (Berkovsky last season), will immediately fill the lineup spot vacated by the departure of Colton Williams to graduation. The Trenton, Mich., native was one of two golfers to compete in all 13 events for Michigan State in 2008-09. He finished second on the team with a 73.91 scoring average, which would have ranked third last season for Baylor behind Bill Allcorn (73.11) and sophomore Joakim Mikkelsen (73.45).

"We are excited to add Payne to our golf team," Priest said. "He brings a tremendous amount of experience after playing in all 13 events last year and getting a couple of wins at Michigan State. He is a very accomplished player and I believe he will step in and make an impact right away."

Rounding out Baylor’s roster are sophomore Drew McGee and freshmen Ryan O’Rear and Matthew Seligmann. McGee, a walk-on, participated in junior varsity golf tournaments last season.

“Drew is another walk-on that made the team last year,” Priest said. “We were going to redshirt him, but we decided to play him. He played solid in those JV events last season and continues to improve. He’s someone that will surprise a lot of people this year and has a chance to compete for a starting spot.”

O’Rear begins his college career at Baylor following three consecutive Class 2A Texas state individual titles at Salado High School. Houston native Seligmann won the 2008 Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) individual title as a junior.

“Both Ryan and Matthew are well accomplished junior players,” Priest said. “They may not see a lot of playing time behind our returning golfers, but if they jump in and show us what they can do and work hard, they’ll push the returners for spots. Being about to playing against guys like Cody (Paladino) and Joakim (Mikkelsen) in practice will only make them better.”

Last season, Baylor advanced to its 12th consecutive NCAA Regional and came within nine holes of a berth in the NCAA Championships. This season, with a core group of seven returning letterwinners and a reigning NCAA Championships individual participant, the Bears will push their opposition to the limits in order to return to the national stage at the 113th annual NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn.

“We have high expectations coming in this season,” Priest said. “We want to continue to make the NCAA Regionals and we’ve had two good finishes at the Big 12 Championship. But, we’re shooting for a higher finish and make a serious run at a Big 12 title and we have the core group back with lots of experience to make the NCAA Championships for the fifth time in school history.”

PALADINO BOUNCES BACK

• In August, Baylor junior Cody Paladino shot a 4-under 140 to earn a spot in the 2009 U.S. Amateur in a qualifier at Wampanoag Country Club in West Hartford, Conn.
  
• Paladino advanced to the Round of 64 match-play at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in July for the second consecutive summer.
  
• In August, Paladino was one of 313 golfers nationally to qualify for the 109th U.S. Amateur Championship in Tulsa, Okla.

COMPETITIVE SCHEDULING

• The Baylor-hosted Baylor Intercollegiate at Dallas’ Royal Oaks Country Club highlights the Lady Bears’ 10-tournament 2009-10 schedule. BU opens the season with three straight tournaments outside the state of Texas – Golfweek’s Conference Challenge in Riverside, Iowa (Aug. 30-Sept.1); William H. Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. (Sept. 11-12); and the Wolverine at Radrick Farms in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Sept. 26-27).
  
• Baylor will play in the Lone Star Challenge Oct. 19-20 in San Antonio, Texas, before hosting the Baylor Intercollegiate Oct. 26-27 at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas.
  
• Baylor opens its spring schedule a return trip to San Antonio for the UTSA Oak Hill Invitational Feb. 15-16 before participating in the Border Olympics (March 5-6) in Laredo, Texas. The Bears' lone out-of-state spring tournament will be in Tallahassee, Fla., for the Seminole Intercollegiate (March 12-14). Baylor then wraps up the spring slate with the Morris Williams Intercollegiate (April 5-6) and Texas A&M Intercollegiate (April 17-18).
  
• The 2010 Big 12 Men's Golf Championships will be held at the Whispering Pines Golf Club April 23-25 in Trinity, Texas, and will be hosted by Baylor University. The NCAA Regional tournaments are set for May 20-22, while the 113th annual NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships are June 2-5 at The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tenn.

NEW FACES IN A NEW PLACE

• Baylor bolstered its 2009-10 roster by adding two of the best high school golfers in Texas. Ryan O’Rear joins the Bears after a stellar four-year career at Salado High School, where he won three consecutive Class 2A Texas state individual titles and was ranked as the No. 1 player in Texas by Golfweek in 2009. Joining O’Rear is Houston native Matthew Seligmann, who claimed the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) individual title as a junior in 2008.
  
• Joining O’Rear and Seligmann is junior Payne Gniewek, who transferred to Baylor from Michigan State. Gniewek, the second NCAA Division I golfer to transfer to Baylor in two years (Berkovsky last season), will immediately fill the lineup spot vacated by the departure of Colton Williams to graduation. The Trenton, Mich., native was one of two golfers to compete in all 13 events for Michigan State in 2008-09. He finished second on the team with a 73.91 scoring average, which would have ranked third last season for Baylor behind Bill Allcorn (73.11) and sophomore Joakim Mikkelsen (73.45).

CLASSROOM HONORS

• A school-record six Baylor men’s golfers were named to the 2009 Academic All-Big 12 Men’s Golf Team. Bill Allcorn, Matt Crosby, Carmine Mediate and Cody Paladino represented Baylor on the first team. Allcorn became the first golfer in Baylor history to be named to the Academic All-Big 12 team all four years. Lorenzo Scotto and Ben Wright rounded out Baylor’s second-team honorees.
  
• Priest’s program set another school record with 14 Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll members.

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