-- NCAA Photo
By Ron Balicki, Lance Ringler and Cassie Stein,
Golfweek
After winning streaks and a national
championship Golfweek's Ron Balicki, Lance
Ringler and
Cassie Stein tackle five questions from the
college golf season.
What was the biggest storyline from the
fall season?
Ron: The big storyline from this fall is simply a
carry over from last spring – the dominance
of Alabama. The Crimson Tide finished the fall
No 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings after
winning all four of its tournament starts.
Impressive, for sure. But go back to last spring
and
coach Jay Seawell’s Tide have captured 10
consecutive tournament titles and 11 of its
past
12 starts, including ending the spring with
victories at the SEC, NCAA Baton Rouge
Regional
and NCAA Championship. No doubt, Alabama
will continue to be the team to beat on the
road to this season’s NCAA.
Lance: It has to be what Alabama has
continued to do. After winning the NCAA
Championship, the Crimson Tide picked up
where they left off, winning all four events
they
played in this past fall. Playing the fourth
toughest schedule, Alabama’s average margin
of
victory is 12.3.
Cassie: Alabama being undefeated, but on a
10-tournament winning streak. The Crimson
Tide picked up where they left off last season
– by winning. With Justin Thomas to the pro
ranks, Alabama thought a spot would needed
to be filled quickly for them to have success
and it has been by freshman Robby Shelton.
Last year when California won 11 of 13
tournaments, many thought it could never be
done again, let alone in back-to-back years,
but I believe if any team could pull off this feat
of winning that many tournaments, it’s the
Tide.
Which team (or player) was the biggest
surprise?
Ron: How about the University of South Florida
Bulls? Here’s a program that has never
finished a season in the Golfweek/Sagarin
Rankings top 50. That’s a span covering the
last
14 years. In fact, eight times they didn’t crack
the top 100. But things are a changing down
there in Tampa. Led by sophomore Chase
Koepka, coach Chris Malloy, now in his fourth
season, has the Bulls making plenty of noise.
USF finished in the top 5 in each of its four fall
starts, including a win at the Invitational at
Kiawah. And Malloy’s squad will start the 2014
spring season No. 20 in the rankings.
Lance: Good things were expected from
Alabama Birmingham this year. After all, The
Blazers
returned its top four players from last year’s
squad that finished 4th at the Conference-USA
Championship and ninth at the NCAA Baton
Rouge Regional. However, not many expected
UAB to crack the top 10 in the
Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings or the
Golfstat Head-to-
Head Rankings – the Blazers are ranked 10th in
both. Led by seniors Wilson McDonald and
Sam Love, UAB has placed in the top 3 in each
of its four starts including a 22-shot victory
to close the fall at the Georgetown
Intercollegiate.
Cassie: Ben Crancer. Why? Because during his
freshman campaign at Texas A&M, he had
two top-five finishes, but this fall he broke
through with his first collegiate victory.
Unexpected, maybe, only because of his play
over the summer, but he has plenty of talent
to win more for the Aggies. He finished the fall
with another eighth-place finish and a T-23
finish. More to come from this sophomore who
was named to the Haskins Award midseason
watch list.
Who made an impact as an individual?
Ron: For the past three season’s Alabama
senior Trey Mullinax has pretty much played in
the shadow of Crimson Tide stars such as
Bobby Wyatt and Cory Whitsett, also Alabama
seniors this season, as well as the likes of
Justin Thomas and Hunter Hamrick. This fall,
Mullinax is casting his own shadow. He has
finished in the top six in each of his four fall
starts, including a big win at the Isleworth
Intercollegiate. Mullinax finished the fall
campaign
ranked No. 1.
Lance: So far this season, no past All-
American or big-name player has emerged to
make
significant headlines. But, there are a few
names that have done everything they can to
be
noticed while not facing the top competition
each week. Western Carolina’s J.T. Poston,
San Jose State’s Cody Blick, Cal-State
Fullerton’s Mark Anguiano and Hartford’s Evan
Russell
all rank inside Golfweek’s top 32 players at the
midway point. The foursome has combined
for a 1,338-20-9 overall head-to-head won-
loss-tie record.
Cassie: South Florida’s Chase Koepka has
blossomed into a top college player after
picking
up his two collegiate victories this fall. He
finished the fall ranked sixth in the nation
behind
some big-named players on top of the
Golfweek Rankings. If the team doesn’t make it
to
nationals, Koepka could be one of the
individuals in the field at Prairie Dunes in May.
What if you missed this... ?
Ron: Purdue enjoyed one of its best fall
campaigns in quite some time. Coach Devon
Brouse’s Boilermakers went 5-for-5 in top-5
finishes, including a pair of seconds at the D.A.
Weibring and Crooked Stick. Over the last few
years, Purdue has struggled to reach the
.500 won-lost mark and be eligible for the
NCAA post season. Doesn’t look like that will
be
this case this time around.
Lance: Kentucky finished the fall with four top-
five finishes in four starts. The Wildcats,
ranked No. 35 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College
Rankings, have finished outside the top 40 in
each of the last seven seasons dipping to a
low of No. 100 just three years ago. The
Wildcats have a veteran group. Seniors Ben
Stow, Martin Snyder and Stephen Powers are
joined by junior David Snyder to make this
Kentucky team one to keep an eye this spring.
Cassie: Remember when California finished the
2012-13 season with 11 wins in 13
tournaments? Maybe, maybe not and that’s
because of the streak that Alabama is on. But
the Bears haven’t gone away. Cal won three
tournaments this fall, the St. Mary’s
Invitational, the Jack Nicklaus Invitational and
The MacKenzie, and finished fourth in the
Golfweek College Rankings. Expect the Bears to
come out firing in the spring and make
another run at the national title.
Who would be your top eight teams if
Match Play started today?
Ron: Alabama, California, Oklahoma State,
Georgia Tech, Illinois, Texas A&M, Arkansas,
Georgia
Lance: Alabama, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma
State, California, Illinois, Oklahoma, Arkansas,
SMU
Cassie: Alabama, California, Texas A&M,
Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Central Florida,
Georgia, UCLA