2006 Wooster Golf Season Outlook

Scots Aiming for Significant Improvement During Spring Season

Andy Van Horn returns to the top of the the Scot lineup this spring after sitting out the entire fall season.

After a fall season of “growing pains,” in which a very young College of Wooster golf squad finished uncharacteristically among the bottom-half of teams at all four of its tournaments, 10th-year coach Rich Danch is optimistic for a much improved spring season.

There are two main reasons for Danch’s high hopes, one being that the Fighting Scots’ No. 1 golfer, Andy Van Horn, is back after taking a break from his busy schedule and not competing the fall semester. Additionally, several sophomores who didn’t previously see much action because of a veteran-laden 2004-05 lineup gained some valuable experience, and they look to translate that into lower scores.

“I think we just need to build from where we’ve been. It was disappointing in the fall. I thought that group was ready to step forward,” Danch explained. “The good thing that came out of (it) was that a lot of guys got their feet wet. I don’t have illusions of everything coming together (this spring), but I can see us being better than we were … and better for seasons to come in the future.”

Van Horn, a junior who also is a starter on Wooster’s nationally-ranked basketball team, has proven to be a top-tier player in the region, compiling eight top-10 finishes at 21 career tourneys and averaging 77.2.

Next in the lineup will be Brandon Tylka, a very experienced and steady player for the Scots. He’s been a regular starter for each of the last two seasons, averaging 80.9 as a sophomore and 78.9 as a junior, as well as a team-low 78.7 this past fall.

The rest of Wooster’s starting five could differ from week-to-week. Looking to solidify a spot are junior Matt Mellott and the sophomore trio of Jim Ipema, Pat Lynch, and Jason Greenwald. While Mellott has not seen consistent duty his first two seasons (seven tournaments), he has played in each of the last two North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, finishing 26th last year (80-83), and he’s coming off averaging a 79.8 during four rounds of fall competition. Ipema “held it pretty solid” as well in the fall, according to Danch, while Lynch showed flashes of brilliance, finishing as the team’s low scorer at the Wittenberg Fall Invitational (74-81). Greenwald started three events, including rounds of 78, 80, and 81.

Also figuring into the mix this spring will be sophomore Erik Shoger and freshman Sean Glaser.

If things come together for Danch’s squad as he expects, the Scots will be in the running for a third-place finish at the NCAC Championships, which would certainly make the fall season a distant memory.