Season Preview/Recap

The Tiger men's and women's golf teams will have 14 experienced golfers leading the way during the 2009-10 campaign.

Led by 12th-year head coach Carla Spenkoch - and first-year assistant Craig McConnell, a former Tiger standout -- Trinity's men return  nine golfers and the women five from last season's rosters.

"Both teams will show marked improvement this season," said coach Spenkoch, who will focus on the women's squad. "The last two years have been tough, but the players have a strong work ethic. There will be a lot of competition within each team. The players will need to step up to the plate, or they won't play."

The Tiger men placed fourth (960 total) at the 54-hole, par-72 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships at the Tunica National Golf Course (Miss.) in April 2009. Trinity, the runner-up in 2008, finished ahead of Centre (965), Southwestern (967), the University of the South-Sewanee (998), Hendrix (1,055) and Millsaps (1,083). Oglethorpe won its eighth men's championship, and second in a row, for a three-day total of 920. The Stormy Petrels went on to win the NCAA Division III Championship.

Returning senior Jonathan Alden of Austin, Texas (Westlake), was the opening-day leader, with a 1-under-par 71. Alden also shared the lead after the second round. On the final day, Alden recorded a 5-over 77 for a three-round score of 228 (71-80-77) and a third-place finish. Alden, who earned All-SCAC First Team honors for the second straight year, was three strokes behind the medalist, Scott Pugh of Oglethorpe, at 225 (78-73-74).

Tiger sophomore golfer Ryan Barry of San Diego (Torrey Pines) received All-SCAC Second Team recognition in a four-way tie for eighth place. Barry shot a final-round 9-over 81 for a 236 total (76-79-81). 

Senior player Peter Senior of Sherman Oaks, Calif. (Campbell Hall), was named to the conference men's sportsmanship team.

Trinity hosted the Alamo City Classic, in the fall of 2008, at the River Crossing Golf Club. The hometown Tiger men placed fifth as a team, and junior Lee Seidlits of Austin (Westlake) tied for ninth in the individual tournament. Seidlits tied for the runner-up spot in the 2007 SCAC Championships.

Senior Nash Kassam of Vancouver, British Columbia (St. George's), was a 2008 All-SCAC honoree, with a fifth-place finish. Senior Chase Clayton of Bakersfield, Calif. (Garces Memorial), was an All-SCAC Second Team recipient in 2008. A solid returning golfer is senior  Ravi Countinho of Peoria, Ariz. (Centennial).

A returning junior is Alex Newton of Katy, Texas (Cinco Ranch), and a sophomore is Eric Davis of Greencastle, Ind. (Greencastle).

In the final men's stats, Alden and Seidlits tied for the best scoring average, at 77.3. Alden played 20 rounds of golf and Seidlits had seven. Barry was close by at 77.4, over 18 rounds.

Three of the talented first-year players hail from Texas: Blake Taylor of Katy (Taylor), Josh Talbert of Beaumont (Westbrook) and Matthew McClure of Southlake (Carroll).

Jordan Snyder is a resident of Kansas City, Mo. (Pembroke Hill School), and Warren Taylor is from Newton, Pa. (Peddie). Joining the Tigers' ranks from overseas is Geoffrey Setiawan of Singapore (International Community School).

"We've had some good scores," coach McConnell said of the Tiger men's team. "The team's resurgence will be based on an individual's resurgence. Playing to improve individually will make us a better team."

Trinity's women's team amassed a final-round SCAC Championships score of 364 for a 1,088 and a fifth-place finish. The Tigers, who also placed fifth in 2008, finished ahead of Oglethorpe (1,153), Hendrix (1,308) and the University of the South-Sewanee (1,586). Southwestern captured its third straight women's championship with a 969.

Monica Mercado, who graduated, shot a final-round 7-over 79 for a 252 total (90-83-79) and a two-way tie for sixth place. Mercado, who qualified as an All-SCAC Second Team recipient, became Trinity's first female golfer to receive all-conference honors since 2006. Paige Cohick finished sixth in 2006, for a slot on the All-SCAC Second Team.  Southwestern's Marisa Mauldin won her third consecutive SCAC title with a 233 (77-75-81).

Mercado received a high honor from the National Golf Coaches Association. She was elected to the NGCA All-West Region Team for her performance this season. Mercado was also selected for the SCAC Women's Golf All-Sportsmanship Team.

Not all of the Tiger golf highlights occurred at the SCAC Championships.

Trinity golf history was made in Concan, Texas, at the TLU (Texas Lutheran University) Concan Intercollegiate Classic.

Returning junior Emma Herzog of Katy (Cinco Ranch) fired an ace on the par-3, 137-yard 14^th hole at the Club at Concan. The impressive feat marked the first hole-in-one for Herzog, and the  first in the 11 years since coach Spenkoch had taken over the reins of the Tigers men's and women's programs. Herzog used a 7-iron on the hole which features a narrow green, and hazards to the front and back. She said the ball bounced at the beginning of the green and rolled in the cup.

Herzog, who will study abroad during the fall 2009 semester, finished the Concan event in a tie for eighth place, and Mercado tied for sixth. The Tiger squad had an excellent finish as team runner-up.

Three seniors will provide an experienced corps of leaders: Olivia Kotter of Copley, Ohio (Bond); Kaitlin Elsenheimer of Medina, Ohio (Medina); and Anne Wooton of Baltimore (Friends School).

A talented Texan is Julia Orrange of Georgetown (Georgetown).

Mercado was the women's scoring leader at 85.9, over 18 rounds. Orrange recorded an average of 91.7, also in 18 rounds. Elsenheimer played only the spring schedule, and eight rounds, averaging 92.1 per round.

Joining the Tiger golf program is Trinity junior Lisa Zampello of Kingwood, Texas (Kingwood). Two newcomers are first-year players Lauren Holguin of San Antonio (Health Careers) and Courtney Bosquez of Bryan (Bryan).

"The women's team should be a lot better this year," coach Spenkoch said. "We will do a lot of work to improve their swings and short game. There will also be competition on the women's team."