Guilford Headlines ODAC Men's Golf Coaches Poll

Guilford Headlines ODAC Men's Golf Coaches Poll

Quakers with Nine First Place Votes, Generals with Remaining Two

FOREST, Va. --- Guilford College lifted its 16th ODAC men's golf trophy in 2017 and opens the 2018 spring season as the favorite to repeat following its assignment to the top position in the ODAC Men's Golf Coaches Poll. The Quakers collected nine first place votes on the way to a table-topping 99 points. Washington and Lee University earned the remaining two top nods towards 90 total tallies, while Virginia Wesleyan University rounds out the top-three with 80 points.

Last year's conference championship was played completely in the rain with an adjusted schedule, but ODAC golfers still completed a full allotment of 54 holes. The weather didn't keep Guilford from pulling away for a 24-stroke victory over W&L with a wire-to-wire effort.

The individual medal required more rain-sogged swings as Guilford's Josh Hill and Kell Graham sat locked at 2-over 218 following three rounds of competition at Stoney Creek Golf Club at Wintergreen Resort. Just one extra hole was needed as Hill's par on #18 topped Graham's bogey effort.

RELATED: 2017 ODAC Championship Results

For the first time since 2010, the ODAC sent two teams to the natioanl championships in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., as automatic bid-winner Guilford was joined by Washington and Lee as an at-large selection. Both teams acquitted themselves well over four rounds of competition at El Campeon Golf Course and Las Colinas Golf Course at Mission Inn Resort & Club. Washington and Lee finished 14th (1217) following team rounds of 300, 306, 306, and 305. Guilford made a run at the national crown, finishing as the runner-up (1182) by just two strokes to Wittenberg University. The Quakers carded team rounds of 300, 293, 296, and 293.

Individually, all five Quakers and three Generals placed inside the top-50. For Guilford, Hill finished 12th at 6-over 294 (71-72-77-74). Graham (76-73-73-76) and Ty Palmer (77-74-75-72) tied for 24th at 10-over 298, while Zach Evens tied for 30th at 12-over 300 (76-78-74-72). Harrison Frye capped GC's contingent tied for 42nd at 16-over 304 (81-74-74-75).

Washington and Lee's Brian Peccie (75-74-75-80) also tied for 42nd, while Luke Farley was one shot higher in a tie for 46th at 17-over 305 (76-79-75-75). Conley Hurst tied for 50th at 18-over 306 (76-77-78-75). Todd Alan McDonald (73-80-79-75) and ODAC Rookie of the Year Robert Quinilty (78-76-78-81) chimed in tied for 54th (307) and tied for 68th (313), respectively.

RELATED: 2017 NCAA Championship Team Results | 2017 NCAA Championship Individual Results

The 2017 fall season gave us a glimpse of what is to come this spring with teams and individuals alike separated by just a few strokes on the ODAC charts. Twelve players open the 2018 slate averaging 75.0 or better per round. The parity extends to the team rankings with four squads averaging fewer than 300 team strokes per round -- Guilford (292.1), Washington and Lee (296.5), Hampden-Sydney College (297.6) and Virginia Wesleyan (299.9).

That success is reflected in the Division III computer rankings by Golfstat. Seven ODAC teams and six individual players appear inside the top-100 rankings by the national outlet. Washington and Lee and Guilford are slotted inside the top-15, ranked ninth and 13th, respectively. Virginia Wesleyan in 43rd and Hampden-Sydney in 47th make it four inside the top-50. Bridgewater College sits 66th, while Lynchburg College and Randolph-Macon College are back-to-back in 87th and 88th position, respectively.

Individually, three Generals, two Quakers, and a Marlin rank 68th or better. W&L's Peccie and GC's Evens are ranked fifth and ninth in the country, respectively. The two are flipped on the ODAC average charts with Evens leading the league at 71.5 strokes per round and Peccie at 72.5. W&L's Sean Puleo (74.1) is 38th in the country, while GC's Hill (73.0) ranks 57th. W&L's Farley (75.1), who earned the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete award last season, holds the 66th position. Virginia Wesleyan's Carter Morgan (73.0) is ranked 68th entering the spring campaign.

RELATED: Golfstat Team Rankings | Golfstat Individual Rankings | ODAC Season Statistics

The 2018 spring season begins the week of March 5 with several tournaments on the docket. The ODAC Championship will take to a new venue this season. Bryan Park Golf & Conference Center will host the conference's men's and women's teams for three days, April 22-24, in Greensboro, N.C.

Listed below is the complete 2018 ODAC Men's Golf Preseason Poll as well as preview capsules for each of the ODAC men's golf programs.  For more information on ODAC men's golf, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.

2018 ODAC MEN'S GOLF PRESEASON POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes
1. Guilford College (9) 99 pts.
2. Washington and Lee University (2) 90 pts.
3. Virginia Wesleyan University 80 pts.
4. Hampden-Sydney College 72 pts.
5. Bridgewater College 63 pts.
6. Lynchburg College 49 pts.
7. Randolph-Macon College 48 pts.
8. Roanoke College 34 pts.
9. Shenandoah University 31 pts.
10. Emory & Henry College 26 pts.
11. Eastern Mennonite University 13 pts.

* Minimum five rounds played for returning leaders from the 2017 fall

2018 Poll Position: 5th
Head Coach: John Rogers
2017 Tournament Finish: 6th - 959
Current Golfstat Ranking: 66
Current Team Average: 301.9
Returning All-ODAC Players
  First Team:
 None
  Second Team: Ocean Armstrong
  Third Team: None
Top-5 Returning Fall Leaders -- (#) denotes ODAC rank
74.7 (8) -- Ocean Armstrong
74.8 (T9) -- Luke Hill
76.4 (T23) -- Jason Spaar
76.5 (T27) -- Jake Norby
77.2 (32) -- Jeremy Pannebaker
  2018 Poll Position: 7th
Head Coach: Tim Wehner
2017 Tournament Finish: 4th - 945
Current Golfstat Ranking: 88
Current Team Average: 306.4
Returning All-ODAC Players
  First Team:
 None
  Second Team: None
  Third Team: Matt McDonagh
Top-5 Returning Fall Leaders -- (#) denotes ODAC rank
76.3 (22) -- Alex Nelson
77.4 (T34) -- Chase Childers
77.4 (T34) -- Kirby Struhar
77.6 (36) -- Peter Shaner
81.5 (54) -- Christian Fagan 
     
2018 Poll Position: 11th
Head Coach: Mike Yoder
2017 Tournament Finish: 11th - 1074
Current Golfstat Ranking: 243
Current Team Average: 342.0
Returning All-ODAC Players
  First Team:
 None
  Second Team: None
  Third Team: None
Top-5 Returning Fall Leaders -- (#) denotes ODAC rank
81.8 (T56) -- Andrew Alderfer
84.3 (61) -- Lucas Miller
84.7 (62) -- Riley Kingsley
86.8 (64) -- Benjamin Shenk
97.8 (65) -- Chris Fenn
  2018 Poll Position: 8th
Head Coach: Brian Spellane
2017 Tournament Finish: T-7th - 980
Current Golfstat Ranking: 146
Current Team Average: 316.6
Returning All-ODAC Players
  First Team:
 None
  Second Team: None
  Third Team: None
Top-5 Returning Fall Leaders -- (#) denotes ODAC rank
76.8 (T29) -- Evan Diebus
78.0 (T38) -- Brad Williams
79.4 (T43) -- Nick Peters
80.8 (51) -- Andrew Edwards
81.8 (T56) -- Adam Anker 
     
2018 Poll Position: 10th
Head Coach: Bill Pearce
2017 Tournament Finish: 10th - 990
Current Golfstat Ranking: 136
Current Team Average: 314.2
Returning All-ODAC Players
  First Team:
 Carlos Andrade
  Second Team: None
  Third Team: None
Top-5 Returning Fall Leaders -- (#) denotes ODAC rank
75.8 (18) -- Carlos Andrade
79.4 (T43) -- Chase Burt
79.8 (46) -- Wes Blaylock
80.0 (49) -- Ben Owen
81.2 (52) -- Blake Benson 
  2018 Poll Position: 9th
Head Coach: Scott Singhas
2017 Tournament Finish: T-7th - 980
Current Golfstat Ranking: 151
Current Team Average: 314.4
Returning All-ODAC Players
  First Team:
 None
  Second Team: Blake Forst
  Third Team: None
Top-5 Returning Fall Leaders -- (#) denotes ODAC rank
75.5 (16) -- Doc Shulte
79.9 (T47) -- Brett Dubin
79.9 (T47) -- Joseph Gesell
80.3 (50) -- Connor McCarthy
81.4 (53) -- Blake Woodie 
     
2018 Poll Position: 1st
Head Coach: Justin Tereshko
2017 Tournament Finish: 1st - 889
Current Golfstat Ranking: 13
Current Team Average: 292.1
Returning All-ODAC Players
  First Team:
 Zach Evens, Josh Hill
  Second Team: None
  Third Team: None
Top-5 Returning Fall Leaders -- (#) denotes ODAC rank
71.5 (1) -- Zach Evens
73.0 (T3) -- Josh Hill
74.8 (T9) -- Kell Graham
75.3 (T14) -- Harrison Frye
75.9 (19) -- Jack Lee
  2018 Poll Position: 3rd
Head Coach: Rick Bidnick
2017 Tournament Finish: 5th - 954
Current Golfstat Ranking: 43
Current Team Average: 299.9
Returning All-ODAC Players
  First Team:
 None
  Second Team: None
  Third Team: None
Top-5 Returning Fall Leaders -- (#) denotes ODAC rank
73.0 (T3) -- Carter Morgan
75.6 (17) -- Keith Cooper
76.0 (T20) -- Kevin Duffy
76.4 (T23) -- Jacob Laughlin
76.8 (T29) -- Jakob Keidel
     
2018 Poll Position: 4th
Head Coach: Chad Eisele
2017 Tournament Finish: 3rd - 928
Current Golfstat Ranking: 47
Current Team Average: 297.6
Returning All-ODAC Players
  First Team:
 Parker Smith (POY)
  Second Team: None
  Third Team: Bruce Shober
Top-5 Returning Fall Leaders -- (#) denotes ODAC rank
74.4 (6) -- Allen Smith
74.6 (7) -- Parker Smith
74.8 (T9) -- Austin Fockler
76.0 (T20) -- Rob Witherspoon
76.9 (31) -- Dylan Taylor
  2018 Poll Position: 2nd
Head Coach: Peter Gyscek
2017 Tournament Finish: 2nd - 913
Current Golfstat Ranking: 9
Current Team Average: 296.5
Returning All-ODAC Players
  First Team:
 Brian Peccie, Robert Quinilty (ROY)
  Second Team: None
  Third Team: Luke Farley (SAOY)
Top-5 Returning Fall Leaders -- (#) denotes ODAC rank
72.5 (2) -- Brian Peccie
74.1 (5) -- Sean Puleo
75.1 (13) -- Luke Farley
76.4 (T23) -- Robert Quinilty
77.3 (33) -- Austin Harrill
     
2018 Poll Position: 6th
Head Coach: Michael Veverka
2017 Tournament Finish: 9th - 986
Current Golfstat Ranking: 87
Current Team Average: 303.4
Returning All-ODAC Players
  First Team:
 None
  Second Team: Josh Irby
  Third Team: None
Top-5 Returning Fall Leaders -- (#) denotes ODAC rank
75.0 (12) -- Branson Terrell
75.3 (T14) -- Josh Irby
76.5 (T27) -- Carter Old
77.9 (37) -- Justin Wimmer
78.0 (T38) -- Josh Petrillo