University of Connecticut Athletics
2002 BIG EAST Championship Preview
4/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
When: April 19-21
Friday, April 19 - Practice Rounds
Saturday, April 20 - 36 holes (1st round - 8 a.m./2nd round - 1 p.m.)
Sunday, April 21 - 18 holes (Final Round - 8 a.m.)
Where: The 2002 BIG EAST Championship will be held at the Warren Golf Course in South Bend, IN. This year’s event (open to the public) marks the second appearance of the league championship at Warren, a par-71, 6,744-yard course designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. [] [] []
UConn in the BIG EAST Championship: The trip to the BIG EAST Championship will be the Huskies' 22nd in 23 years, dating back to the inaugural tournament held in 1979. Connecticut's lone miss came last season, snapping a 21-year streak of qualifying for the event. The Huskies won their first and only championship back in 1994 under head coach Joe Giannelli.
Year Finish 2001 -- 2000 6th 1998 5th 1997 3rd 1996 8th 1995 2nd 1994 1st 1993 4th 1992 2nd 1991 4th 1990 4th Year Finish 1989 5th 1988 3rd 1987 7th 1986 6th 1985 6th 1984 2nd 1983 3rd 1982 2nd 1981 2nd 1980 3rd 1979 3rd
The 2002 Huskies: Connecticut, the No. 4 seed, has enjoyed a strong spring. The Huskies finished fifth at the Kauai Collegiate Cup behind the play of senior Sean Vigue, who finished sixth. UConn finished eighth at the San Diego Invitational, led by Vigue and freshman Mike Murphy who finished tied for 22nd and 28th, respectively. Most recently, the Huskies finished fifth at the New England Division I Championship. Vigue has led the team in each of the five tournaments this spring and has been the top UConn scorer in every tournament this year (Murphy and Kevin Coghlan each tied him once in tournaments during the fall, the former at the Adams Cup and the latter at the Yale Invitational). [] [] [] []
Leading the Pack: UConn's Bryce Wallor . The second-year head coach talked about his team's chances at the championship, the competition they'll face and making the field for the first time as head coach. Wallor, a 1998 graduate of Rhode Island, helped the Rams to NCAA East Regionals in 1994, '96, '97 and '98.
The rest of the field: Top-seeded Virginia Tech enters the championship once again enjoying an outstanding season. Ranked 14th nationally in the April 14 Golfweek.com rankings, the Hokies have won three tournaments this season, including back-to-back victories at the Cleveland Golf Collegiate Championship at Aiken, S.C. and the Furman Intercollegiate in Greenville, S.C. in mid-March. A native of Zimbabwe, junior Brendon de Jonge is currently ranked eighth nationally and won the Furman Intercollegiate this spring. He is currently ranked fourth in District III North and is a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan Award, given annually to the top collegiate golfer. Senior Johnson Wagner has played solid golf all spring, including a school-record 11-under-par finish at the Cleveland Golf/ASU Invitational. He finished third in the event and his 66 on Sunday was the low round of the tournament. [] []
St. John’s, the No. 2 seed, is looking for its 10th conference crown. Ranked third in District II by Golfweek.com, the Red Storm are led by the junior tandem of Andrew Svoboda and Jesse Fitzgerald. Svoboda sports a 73.66 scoring average to pace the squad. He claimed wins at The McLaughlin, The Anteater Invitational and The Princeton Invitational and has posted five top-10 finishes. He also finished in a first-place tie at the 2001 BIG EAST Championship. Fitzgerald owns a 74.03 scoring average and captured the individual title, along with Svoboda, at the Anteater Invitational with a two-over par 218. In the spring, SJU has posted six top-10 finishes, including first-place finishes at the Treasure Coast World Trade Center Heroes Classic and the Anteater Invitational. [] []
No. 3 seed Notre Dame is in search of its fourth championship since 1995. The Irish are led by senior Steve Ratay and his 72.81 spring scoring average. Freshman K.C. Wiseman is next, posting a 76.36 average. Wiseman finished tied for 20th at the Pepsi-Cola Invitational, while Ratay placed second at the Treasure Cove Classic. As a team, the Irish own two top-10 finishes this spring: seventh-place ties at the Treasure Cove Classic and the Pepsi-Cola Invitational. [] []
Seeded fifth, Seton Hall should be led by junior Justin Van Hyning, the 2001 Navy Fall Invitational individual champion. Van Hyning has been solid again this spring, posting a 73.90 scoring average. As a team, the Pirates are ranked 12th in District II and have posted two top-10 finishes this spring: ninth at the Treasure Coast World Trade Center Heroes Classic and sixth at the William & Mary Golden Horseshoe Invitational. [] []
No. 6 seed Georgetown enters the tournament having posted top-10 finishes in its last six outings. The Hoyas are 13th in District II in the Golfweek.com rankings. Sophomore Nick Cook leads the squad with a 74.80 scoring average, while senior Tristian Lewis (76.96) is second on the team. Cook finished fifth at the William & Mary Invitational and seventh at the Xavier Provident Invitational, while Lewis finished fifth
at the Georgetown Hoya Invitational. The Hoyas are seeking their second BIG EAST title in the last four years. []
