Men’s golf takes on CCIW Preview Tournament

This past Friday, Sept. 22, the men’s golf team headed to Joliet to partake in the CCIW Preview Tournament. This is their third tournament of the year.
Last year, the golf team finished 113-82-2 which was good for sixth place in the CCIW. They are looking to come back better this year, and improve their ranking within the conference and the nation.
Senior, Gabe Askam, has a positive outlook on this season and the future of Augustana’s men’s golf.
“I see this team as being one of the best Augustana has had in the four years I have been here,” Askam said. “We have an extremely talented group of freshman that will definitely lead the team to more successes in the future.”
Head Coach, Paul Delvecchio has a similar view on the team’s future.
“There are some really good young guys on the team and they continue to learn and improve,” Delvecchio stated. “With the help of some upperclassmen, we should be in good shape.”
With a positive outlook on the season, the team has clear goals going into each tournament and hopes to use these goals as a means to prepare for future matches.

“We try and focus in on the more difficult aspects of the course we are going to play, whether it be putting, short game, or something else,” Askam said. “Our goal for this specific tournament is really just to see the layout of the course for the first time and look to use that knowledge when we play there for the Conference tournament in the spring.”

Coach Delvecchio had simple, yet direct goals.

“Our goal is always to win,” Delvecchio said. “But we also try not to get caught up in our score. We focus on one shot at a time.”

At the tournament, the golf team placed fifth out of the nine teams in the Conference. Alex Sierra tied for the lowest score in the whole field, finishing one under with a 71.