NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion men's golf team is set to begin the spring portion of the 2016-17 season next week, as the Monarchs will head to the Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Spring, California from Feb. 16-19.
FALL RECAP
Murray Rudisill's Monarchs captured the team title out of 19 teams at the Patriot Intercollegiate in September, as David Langley, Antonio Cruz-Conde and Michael Bakker registered top-10 individual finishes, taking second, sixth and ninth, respectively.
ODU also recorded a runner-up finish at the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate in October where senior David Langley won the individual tournament crown. Calvin Greschner placed eighth in the field of 93 participants.
The Monarchs also competed in the Janney VCU Shootout and the Firestone Intercollegiate.
SPRING SCHEDULE
Feb. 16-19: Desert Intercollegiate (Palm Spring, Calif.)
March 5-7: Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
March 9-12: Pinehurst Invitational (Pinehurst, N.C.)
March 18-21: Kingsmill Intercollegiate (Williamsburg, Va.)
April 2-4: East Carolina Intercollegiate (Greenville, N.C.)
April 9-11: Wyoming Desert Classic (Phoenix, Ariz.)
April 22-26: C-USA Championship (Texarkana, Ark.)
CONFERENCE USA PREVIEW
The Monarchs are ranked 10th in the C-USA accoridng to Golfweek's spring preview. Middle Tennessee was picked to win the conference, despite UTEP being ranked No. 1 in the C-USA. The Conference USA Championships will be held April 23-26 in Texarkana, Arkansas.
C-USA TEAM RANKINGS (GolfStat Team Ranking)
1. UTEP (No. 41)
2. Middle Tennessee (No. 55)
3. North Texas (No. 59)
4. Charlotte (70)
5. UAB (78)
6. Rice (99)
7. UTSA (118)
8. Southern Miss (128)
9. Western Kentucky (134)
10. Old Dominion (146)
11. LA Tech (157)
12. Marshall (179)
13. FAU (230)
RETURNERS
David Langley, Sr., Buckinghamshire, England
After setting an Old Dominion record by shooting a 63 in the first round of the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate in 2015, Langley got off to a fast start in 2016 by capturing the individual tournament crown at the 2016 ODU/OBX tournament in October. The England native fired a four-under 67 in the final round to win the top medalist honor by two strokes over UNC Wilmington's Patrick Cover, helping the Monarchs to a runner-up finish as a team. Langley also recorded a 72.1 stroke average in the fall, the lowest of all Monarch golfers.
Antonio Cruz-Conde, Jr., San Pedro Alcantera, Spain
Cruz-Conde enters the spring season after posting two top-20 finishes in the fall, as the junior from Spain placed sixth at the Patriot Intercollegiate, helping the Monarchs clinch the team title, and grabbed 18th at the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate. Cruz-Conde maintained a stroke average of 73.5 in the fall and shot a season-low 69 in the second round of the Patriot Intercollegiate.
Chad Hess, Jr., Orefield, Pa.
Junior Chad Hess competed in the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate in October, placing 48th after firing a three-under 68 in the final round of the tournament. The Orefield, Pennsylvania native registered one top-20 finish during the 2015-16 season, claiming 16th place at the ODU/OBX Invite. At the Conference USA Championships last spring, Hess finished 48th for the Monarchs.
Calvin Greschner, So., Malaga, Spain
In the fall, Greschner posted his best performance at the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate, placing eighth after shooting a four-under 67 in the final round and helping the Monarchs to a runner-up team finish. The sophomore from Malaga, Spain recorded a 73.4 stroke average through four tournaments in the fall, and his four-under 67 at the ODU/OBX tournament tied for the best single round score of all Monarch golfers.
Nick Rencis, So., Long Valley, N.J.
Fresh off a productive freshman season that saw Rencis claim the individual tournament crown at the Greenbrier Invitational and subsequent C-USA Men's Golfer of the Week honors in the spring of 2016, the Long Valley, New Jersey native posted a 32nd place finish at the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate in October in his lone outing of the fall.
NEWCOMERS
Michael Bakker, RSo., Johannesburg, South Africa (Clayton State)
A transfer from Clayton State, Bakker wasted little time getting acclimated to the Monarch golf squad, recording two top-10 finishes with an eighth-place result at the Firestone Intercollegiate and a ninth-place finish at the Patriot Intercollegiate. After grabbing 28th place at the ODU/OBX, the redshirt sophomore wrapped up the fall with a 72.6 stroke average, the second-lowest of any Monarch.
Casper Aneman, Fr., Djursholm, Sweden
Playing in all four fall tournaments as a freshman, Aneman placed 20th at the Patriot Intercollegiate and took 24th at the season-opening Janney VCU Shootout, his first collegiate competition.
Chandler Wilkins, Fr., Danville, Va.
The freshman from Danville, Virginia made his collegiate debut at the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate, shooting 80-79-83.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow @ODUMGolf on Twitter and 'like' ODU Men's Golf on Facebook for all the latest news, updates and scores pertaining to the ODU men's golf program.