University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
UConn Golfers Set For BIG EAST Championship
4/26/2023 8:48:00 PM | Men's Golf
Nelson Leads Huskies In Quest For Conference Crown
UConn Athletic Communications / April 26, 2023
Led by grad student Jared Nelson, the UConn men's golf team has its sights set on winning a conference title as it heads for the BIG EAST Conference Golf Championship this weekend.
The Huskies, with six Top 10 finishes during the 2022-23 season, will challenge the nine other BIG EAST teams in the three-day (April 28-30), 54-hole event at the Riverton Pointe Golf Course in Hardeeville, S.C. The team champion, as well as the individual champion if he is not a member of the winning team, will earn an automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Championship.
"I think the team is really looking forward to playing for the conference title," UConn Coach Dave Pezzino said. "Riverton Pointe is a good golf course – a good, fair test. I think the team that's going to win the conference championship at Riverton is going to be a patient, disciplined group of guys. It's a good opportunity for us to round into form and show a lot of maturity this week."
The Huskies have had just over a week off since playing in The Rutherford tournament in State College, Pa., on April 16.
"It was a really good week of prep," Pezzino said. "We seem to be coming into form and that's what we needed – one real solid week of prep, instead of going tournament to tournament to tournament to conference. It was a real good spot in the schedule to get prepared."
Nelson, the top performer in the BIG EAST this season with a 70.68 per round average and two tournament wins, heads the UConn contingent, which will also include junior Jimmy Paradise (73.1), junior Tommy Dallahan (73.96), sophomore Trevor Lopez (74.7) and freshman Colin Spencer (76.1). Freshman Connor Goode (77.5) will be part of the team as a possible substitute.
Nelson, Paradise and Dallahan were players on the team two years ago as the Huskies won the 2021 BIG EAST Championship, giving this year's team some much-needed experience in the big event. Seton Hall was the 2022 team champion.
Nelson (Rutland, Vt.), who has six Top 10 individual finishes and 20 rounds of par-or-better this season, has been particularly impressive this year.
"It's really been exciting to see all Jared's hard work from the last four years pay off the way it has all year," Pezzino said. "This isn't something I'm surprised about at all. He's had a tremendous season and he is legitimately like having another coach on the team. He's like a player-coach because he is so much more mature than a normal college player. He looks at the game very cerebrally, he doesn't try to do too much and he is extremely disciplined.
"Jared is just a special young man. To see where he was his sophomore year, a young guy working on his game every day, to now see the man that's going to walk out of here is something that our program is all about. We develop golf student-athletes here and he's done a tremendous job. I am super proud of him."
Play in the BIG EAST Championship is scheduled to begin Friday and Saturday at 8 a.m. ET. On Sunday, play begins at 8:30 a.m. Live stats will be available on GolfStat.com.
GameKast Live, a golf streaming service, will provide coverage. Viewers will form an account, but there will be no charge for the service this year. GKLive.TV will cover the entire 54-hole event using over 20 cameras. Live commentary from the 18th green, player and coach interviews and highlights will be provided. GameKast Live provided coverage of the women's championship last week.
The GameKast link: https://www.gklive.tv/event/2023-big-east-conference-mens-golf-championship
Players Mentioned
