Follow with Live Stats
 
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – The momentum created by a strong finish to the fall season has created high expectations for the ACU men’s golf team entering the spring championship season.
 
That season begins Sunday at the Vaqueros Intercollegiate golf tournament against a field comprised of SMU, UTEP, North Texas, UT-San Antonio, Lamar, Western Carolina, Wichita State, Northern Colorado, tournament host UT-Rio Grande Valley, UT-Arlington, Denver, Louisiana-Monroe, George Washington, Eastern Michigan, Seton Hall, Cal Baptist, and Central Michigan. The 54-hole tournament begins Sunday with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start and will be played on the par-72, 6,70-1yard Playa Paraiso Golf Club course.
 
Playing for the Wildcats in the first tournament of the spring will be Trenton Johnson, Jaime Lewis, Greg Hoyeau, Thomas Buisson, and Colin Leonard. Jack Hollingsed will be playing as an individual.
 
The Wildcats finished second and third in two of their final three tournaments last fall, sending the team into the offseason and preparation for the spring season with significant momentum.
 
“We enjoyed a great ending to the fall as we played very well against some high-quality teams,” ACU head coach Tom Shaw said. “That boost of confidence has carried over in the winter and given us the necessary mindset to continue that good play in the spring.
 
“We have high expectations for the spring,” he said. “We’ll be playing in some tournaments that will test us, but that’s all part of becoming a nationally competitive program that seeks matchups against the best teams in the country. We’re excited for the challenge.”
 
At the Florida Atlantic Golf Invitational, a pair of freshmen, Leonard and Hollingsed, led the Wildcats to a third-place finish. Leonard finished in a three-way tie for third place, and Hollingsed finished ninth. Those two have Shaw – in his 11th season at ACU – excited about this season and the program’s future.
 
“Both of our freshmen are excellent players,” Shaw said. “Jack and Colin have demonstrated they can be strong contributors this season, as shown by their top 10 finishes in our last fall tournament. These two young men will significantly impact our team over the next four years.”
 
ACU will play back-to-back weeks to open the season, playing next week (Feb. 10-11) at the Bentwater Intercollegiate, hosted by Rice University, at Bentwater Country Club in Montgomery, Texas. The Wildcats will play six spring tournaments before the Western Athletic Conference championship tournament, April 25-27, at The Golf Club at Chaparral Pins in Payson, Arizona.