Buckeyes Travel To Meet Up With The Gators – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 8, 2001
The Ohio State men’s golf team will travel to the University of Florida to compete in the 24th annual 2001 SunTrust Gator Invitational this weekend Feb. 10-11, in Gainesville, Fla. The tournament will take place at the University of Florida Golf Course (par 70, 6,300 yards). The teams competing are Alabama, Alabama-Birmingham, Augusta State, Central Florida, College of Charleston, North Florida, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Kentucky, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Purdue, Vanderbilt and Ohio State.
The Gators will be hard to beat, having taken 15 titles in the tournament. Last season Florida won, scoring 815 and the medalist was Mississippi State’s Alex Rocha.
Up Next
The Buckeyes next compete in theMatlock Collegiate Classic in Lakeland, Fla., March 5-7.
Last year at the Matlock Collegiate Classic Justin Collins (So., Ironton, Ohio/Ironton) had his top finish for his freshman year scoring 73-72-73=218 to tie for 9th place.
Top Five
Head coach Jim Brown will be taking to the SunTrust Gator Invitational the four competing golfers from the Ping Arizona Invite who proved themselves with a third place finish for the Buckeyes. Justin Collins withdrew from the Ping Invite because of an illness so Ryan Dennis (Jr., Stow, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) will be the fifth competing Buckeye in his place this weekend. Head coach Jim Brown said that change in the competing five will be reoccurring throughout the season.
“Nothing is set in stone,” Brown said. “I am going to strive to get the best five out there every tournament.”
Mike Austin (Sr., Burton, Mich./Flint Powers Catholic), Ryan Dennis (Jr.., Stow, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), Chris Emanuel (Sr., Ottumwa, Iowa/Ottumwa), Jason Oien (Jr., Westerville, Ohio/Westerville) and David Wagenseller (Jr., Wilmington, Ohio/Wilmington) will be the competitors in the upcoming SunTrust Gator Invitational.
Last Time Out
The Buckeyes played last at the Ping Arizona Intercollegiate. The tournament took place at the Raven Golf Club (par 71, 6776 yards).
Ohio State took third place, scoring 283-287-292= 862 behind first place Southern California with the score of 833 and California in second place scoring, 855. Leading for Ohio State was DaviWagenseller who tied for second place scoring 71-68-69=208. Next was Mike Austin in 23rd scoring 67-75-74=216. Jason Oien was in 30th position with the final score of 217 and Chris Emanuel took 40th place scoring, 221.
This is the highest finish that the Buckeyes have earned this season. Before the Ping Invite the Buckeyes’ lowest team score was 875 (12th place) at the Red River Classic in Dallas, Texas Oct. 9-10.
2001 Season in the Buckeyes’ Favor
After a third-place finish at the Ping Arizona Invite Jan. 29-30, head coach Jim Brown is hoping the performance will set the tone for the rest of the 2001 season.
“It was just a great effort and a great start for the spring season,” Brown said. “Also considering that we only played with four guys because one got sick and had to withdraw.”
Although Justin Collins withdrew from the tournament, the Buckeyes went on to finish third over some very competitive western schools. David Wagenseller ended the final round in second place.
The Schedule
The Buckeyes’ 2001 schedule will take the team all over the country and to warm climates. This season the Buckeyes will compete in the Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz, Calif., April 2-3, for the first time since the Buckeyes took the title in 1997.
“I like to make sure that each team gets to go to some exciting places before they graduate,” Brown said. “I keep that in mind when I am scheduling so they have memorable experiences while playing on the team.”
The Buckeyes also will play host to the Kepler Intercollegiate at the Scarlet course April 14-15.
Head Coach Jim Brown
Head coach Jim Brown is in his 28th season with the Buckeyes. He has had a longer OSU coaching career than any other coach on the staff right now. Under Brown, OSU has won 16 Big Ten titles and placed second in the conference eight times. Last season OSU won the First Energy Intercollegiate Invitational, giving Brown 151 tournament wins in his career. Brown led the Buckeyes to a National Championship in 1979.
