Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's golf travels to Joe Agee Invitational
10/02/2005 | 12:00:00 | Men's Golf
Oct. 2, 2005
By Matt Crouch
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University men's golf team heads to the east coast this week to compete in the Joe Agee Invitational. The Salukis are competing in the event for the first time.
Hosted by the College of William & Mary, the Joe Agee Invitational is a 54-hole tournament set to take place at Two Rivers Country Club in Williamsburg, Va. Ranked as one of the top 10 courses in Virginia by Golf Digest, the par-72 course stretches to 6,911 yards at its tips.
The tournament will also serve as a homecoming for three Salukis. Sean McNemar (Culpeper, Va.), Daniel Tomlin (Mechanicsville, Va.) and Roger Welch (Benedict, Md.) all hail from the area.
Also competing for the Dawgs this week are Andrew Gwinup and Mark Schmitz.
"Playing in this tournament is going to be a treat because we get to play a nice course in a different area, against some different teams," said Saluki head coach Leroy Newton.
"It is also a reunion for three of the boys. It will be nice for them to play in front of their families."
Tomlin enters the tournament with a slight advantage over his teammates as he has played the course before. The big thing for him, though, is just getting to play in front of his family.
"It will be nice playing in front of my parents and some of the rest of my family. Also just being back in the area," said Tomlin.
Senior co-captain McNemar is also looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd.
"My grandparents finally get to see my play college golf," said McNemar. "The biggest thing for me is to play hard; this would be a good tournament to win."
Playing on an east coast course will also be an adjustment for some on the team.
"The grass is different, the ground is more clayish and there is more sand in the ground," said senior co-captain Welch. "The course will also play a little faster. It's going to be nice."
"There isn't as much wind out there compared to what we have been playing in," said Tomlin. "Also, I think this course has bermuda grass where last week we played on bent."
SIU will also see some of its toughest competition of the season as three of the 12 teams participating in the event advanced to the 2005 NCAA East Regional (Boston College, Rutgers, Towson).
Other teams competing this week are the College of William & Mary, Cleveland State, Georgetown, George Washington University, James Madison University, Loyola, Old Dominion University and St. Joseph's.
Action begins Monday as the teams play 36 holes. The final round is scheduled for Tuesday.
