2012 Schedule
Utica, NY (3-8-12) - The Utica College men's golf team will hit the course five times, in as many days, next week as its travels to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for its annual spring break trip, from Saturday, March 10 through Thursday March 16.
The Pioneers will travel down South with seven players including two local Whitesboro natives, juniors
John Gaspa (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and
Pat Dundon, who have golfed for UC in all three years since their arrival. The other five shooters, all new additions, are looking forward to their inaugural trip and developing some chemistry amongst each other.
Freshman locals
Christian Leogrande (New Hartford, NY/Notre Dame) of New Hartford, NY and
Adam Vella (Utica, NY /Notre Dame), of Utica, NY are both graduates of Notre Dame Jr.-Sr. High, where they were teammates on the golf team. Leogrande opened up his freshman campaign in the fall and posted an 86 in his first collegiate tournament following up with a career-best 84 just weeks later. Vella, just recently added to the roster, will be making his debut over break and will be in the starting line-up for the regular season opener on April 7.
Junior Tom Baker, of nearby Clinton, NY and sophomore
Benton Ketron (Ilion, NY/Ilion) of Ilion, NY will also be making their collegiate debut next week as they look to bring leadership to the Pioneer line-up.
Sophomore Evan Smith, also a UC men's hockey goalie, has jumped aboard and will begin his collegiate golf campaign over break and looks to have an immediate impact on the course.
UC will open up on Sunday as it tees off at Arcadian Shores Golf Club for an 18-hole practice round. The course measures 6857 yards from the Championship tees, with a course rating of 73.2 and a slope of 137. Designed by Rees Jones, Arcadian features tree-lined Bermuda grass fairways along with Tifton Bermuda greens and includes 64 devious placed bunkers, enticing lakes and a selection of five tee boxes for all levels.
On Monday, Utica will square off against either McDaniel College or Empire 8 rival Stevens Institute of Technology for an 18-hole exhibition match. The match will be held at the Myrtlewood Golf Club which offers two courses, Pine Hills South and Palmetto. The Pioneers will test Palmetto which measures 6.977 yards from the tips along with a slope of 135 and a rating of 73.7 played on Tifdwarf Bermuda grass.
Then on Tuesday, the squad will tee up at River Hills Golf and Country Club in historic seaside village of Little River, South Carolina, near North Myrtle Beach. River Hills has a slope rating of 136 from the tips (Blue Tees) and a rating of 73.3. With 40-foot elevation changes and non-parallel fairways, the course is a challenging yet playable 18 holes with four sets of tees for golfers of all skill levels to enjoy. There are several water hazards on the course, yet most are lateral hazards. The course's signature hole is the 17th, a 526-yard par 5 with a double dog-leg with water crossing in two areas.
The Pioneers will challenge one of the area's finest courses on Wednesday as they tee off at Prestwick Country Club. Designed by well-known architects Pete and P.B. Dye, Prestwick offers six sets of tees for any caliber of golfer measuring 7,086 yards from the medal tees with a slope of 138 and a rating of 74.7. The course features dogwood lined fairways, timber-rimmed bunkers, wildflowers, 35-foot berms along with lakes and streams.
On the final day of action, Thursday Mar. 16, UC will confront the Golf Links at Farmstead in Calabash, NC. Farmstead, which straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina border, designed by Willard Byrd and Dave Johnson and measures 7,242 yards from the championships box. The course provides a 135 slope and a rating of 74.5 with its most distinguishing feature coming on its signature 18th hole, a mammoth 767 yard, par 6 that begins in South Carolina and ends in North Carolina.
Following the trip, the Pioneers open up the spring season Saturday, April 7 as they host the UC Spring Invitational at Kanon Valley Golf Club in Oneida, NY. The field will consist of Ithaca College, Hobart College, Scranton University, St. Lawrence University, and SUNY ESF. Tee times are to be announced.
---www.ucpioneers.com---
