University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
NCAA Tournament/Kingston Springs Regional
UCONN GOLFERS CHALLENGE GOLF CLUB OF TENNESSEE AT NCAA REGIONAL
5/16/2021 12:18:00 AM | Men's Golf
UConn Athletic Communications / May 16, 2021
STORRS, Conn. – Teams preparing for an NCAA Tournament spend an awful lot of time studying their opponent. Who is their three-point shooter? What does their pitcher throw? Which way do they like to run? Which is the goalie's strong side?
Not so in golf.
"It's not like we're going out and playing defense on Clemson," said UConn golf coach Dave Pezzino, who takes his Huskies into three days of NCAA Regional play beginning on Monday.
As with all golf teams in the NCAA Regionals, it's UConn against the golf course – which in the case of the Huskies is The Golf Club of Tennessee, in Kingston Springs, some 25 miles west of Nashville.
"We've got to manage the golf course, that's our only focus," Pezzino said. "People ask me, 'How do you stack up?' Well, we're the 12th seed, so we have to figure out how to play the golf course better than the other 11 teams."
Actually, if the Huskies can finish among the top five of the 13 teams at the Regional, they will advance to the NCAA Championship (May 28-June 2) in Scottsdale, Ariz. The top five teams in each of six regionals and the top individual not on an already advancing team move on to Scottsdale.
UConn is in NCAA play for the first time since 1999, earning a berth by winning its first BIG EAST Championship since 1994. The Huskies realize they have accomplished something special.
"I think we thought about it after the BIG EAST and it made it even more special, considering all we've been through as a program," said freshman Caleb Manuel, the Huskies' leading scorer. "It definitely feels good to get Coach his first. He said it was the biggest win of his coaching career, so good for us and good for him."
"It's unbelievable to me that we are here," added senior Rodrigo Sanchez. "I'm still excited about winning the conference. Honestly, I never expected that something like this would happen. I knew we were playing well, so I thought we would have a chance two weeks ago. But the fact that we actually did it is awesome."
To be successful, however, golfers have to keep excitement under control – at least on the course.
"It's just another tournament – no over-excitement," Pezzino said. "They're confident in what they're doing. We're got the mindset that this is just bonus golf -- they get to play more and they earned it. This is what they came to college to do and it's just part of the process.
"They are good players, they believe in each other and they believe in the team. It's right where I want us to be. I'm trying not to make this bigger than it is. All their family and friends can do that. We've got a job to do."
Besides Manuel (Topsham, Me.) and Sanchez (Santo Domingo, D.R.), junior Jared Nelson (Rutland, Vt.), freshman Jimmy Paradise (Tampa, Fla.) and freshman Tommy Dallahan (Simsbury, Conn.) will represent UConn.
"I don't think we're going to change much," Manuel said. "We're just going to pretend that it's just like last tournament and the tournaments before that. We'll just be paired up with better competition."
Clemson is the No. 1 seed at the regional, followed by (in order of seed) North Carolina State, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, San Diego State, Virginia, Charlotte, Kent State, UTSA, Houston, Loyola Maryland, UConn and Iona.
The Golf Club of Tennessee is one of the top courses in that state – a 7,102-yard Par 71. Pezzino has taken a close look at its attributes.
"I'm excited about Zoysia fairways – the grass in the fairway is a fun surface to play, like playing off Astroturf," the UConn coach said. "Then, the rough is Bermuda, the greens are bent-grass greens. That will play nicely into our prep work this week because we've played a bunch of really hard courses, all bent-grass."
The Huskies played tough courses throughout last week to prepare. They will play a practice round at The Golf Club of Tennessee on Sunday, then begin regional play on Monday morning. It is stroke play with the best four of a team's five scores counting.
"A lot of people didn't think we were going to be here, so we kind of have that attitude going into the week -- kind of like we have nothing to lose," Manuel said. "We'll go out, play our game and see what happens. The big goal at the beginning of the season is, win a conference championship, so it's definitely been a successful season so far."
Players Mentioned
