College Men’s Golf News – Guilford Ranked 11th in Latest Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches’ Poll

NORMAN, Okla. Guilford College’s men’s golf team held onto 11th place in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches’ Poll released Friday. The rankings were made by members of the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and included tournaments through March 27.

Oglethorpe University regained the top spot after receiving eight of 13 first place votes. LaGrange College jumped five spots to earn second place and received two first-place votes. Methodist University, Illinois Wesleyan University and the University of Redlands round out the top five. The University of Texas-Tyler, ranked first in the previous poll, slipped to eighth.

The Quakers are coming off their third runner-up finish of the season March 30-31 at the Wynlakes Intercollegiate in Alabama. Guilford and LaGrange were tied after the tourney’s opening round, but the Panthers topped the Quakers by six shots in the second round for the win. Guilford’s Harrison Frye (High Point, N.C./High Point Central) and Ty Palmer (Kernersville, N.C./Forsyth Country Day) both shared second place with matching 36-holes scores of 142.

Senior Drew Thompson Gross owns the team’s low scoring average (73.72) thanks to a 3-under-par 69 in second day of the Wynlakes Intercollegiate. Palmer is a little over a shot behind Thompson with a 74.78 stroke average over 18 rounds. Sophomore Tanner Gross (Archdale, N.C./Homeschooled) is just behind Palmer with a 74.95 average through 19 rounds.

First-year head coach Justin Tereshko’s squad is also ranked 11th in the latest Golfstat.com Division III Relative Rankings. The Quakers play in the Emory Spring Invitational April 6-7 in suburban Atlanta.

Many of the ranked teams will compete for the NCAA Division III Championship May 12-15 in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Grandover Resort and Conference Center. Guilford co-hosts the event for the second straight season, along with the Greensboro Sports Commission.

Apr. 3 Bushnell / Golfweek Division III Coaches’ Poll

School (First-place votes)      Points   Last
1. Oglethorpe (8)                 314     2
2. LaGrange (2)                   297     7
3. Methodist (1)                  286     3
4. Illinois Wesleyan              382     4
5. Redlands (1)                   278     5             
6. Schreiner (1)                  252     6
7. Wittenberg                     233     8
8. Texas-Tyler                    220     1
9. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps         202    13
10. Central                       194     9
11. Guilford                      189   T11
11. Rhodes                        182   T11
13. Southwestern                  181    10
14. St. Thomas                    153    14
15. La Verne                      109    21