Sept. 5, 2008
After making its 11th-consecutive NCAA Regional appearance, the Baylor Bears have grown accustomed to participating in the postseason. But, the Bears will not be satisfied with just another postseason bid in 2008-09. With a solid core of six returning players, including 2008 All-Big 12 first-teamer Colton Williams (Jacksboro, Texas), Baylor is poised to make a serious run at the Big 12 Conference Championship. The Bears return a wealth of experience, including three players who competed in both the Big 12 Championship and who took part in last year's NCAA Central Regional. Along with their experience, the Bears have brought in five newcomers (two transfers, two redshirt freshmen and one true freshman) who should compete for positions in the starting lineup.
Invited to the NCAA Central Regional at the end of the 2007-08 season for the 12th time in school history, the Bears finished 25th overall - 38 shots back of the 10th and final qualifying position. Despite the finish at the NCAA Regional, the Bears managed to post 10 top-10 finishes in 12 tournaments last season and registered their best Big 12 finish since 2002 (a fourth-place finish).
Williams will be looked on to lead the young Bears squad after carding the team's best spring and overall stroke averages last season. He averaged 72.67 strokes in 15 rounds during the fall and 73.38 strokes in 21 spring rounds for a 73.08 overall average. While only posting one top-10 finish in the fall a year ago, Williams came on as one of Baylor's strongest golfers in the spring. He opened the spring with a 5-under 67 in the first round of the Rice Intercollegiate, but later was forced to withdraw in the third round.
The native Texan dominated the Border Olympics, posting Baylor's first and only spring medalist after shooting a 9-under 207. Williams' dismantling of the Laredo Country Club course featured a 68 and 69 in the first and second rounds, respectively. He later carded a 10th-place finish at the 2008 Big 12 Championship, earning all-tournament and All-Big 12 honors. He finished the season with 16 rounds of even-par or better.
"Colton had a very solid season last year being named All-Big 12 and winning a college tournament," Priest said. "Both of those accomplishments are hard things to do. We will be looking for him to step up this year and become the leader of this golf team.
"He is a hard worker and if he continues to improve, he will have a chance to do some special things for us."
Joining Williams as the most experienced golf for the Bears this season is senior Bill Allcorn (Abilene, Texas), who is looking to become the first four-time Academic All-Big 12 golfer in school history. Allcorn has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll is each of his first eight semesters at Baylor. He was also named a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar for the second consecutive year as a junior in 2008.
Allcorn competed in all 12 tournaments for the Bears, recording a 74.89 stroke average in 37 rounds. He participated in his second consecutive NCAA Central Regional, posting a 241 (+28) to finish 129th overall. His lowest round of the fall came at the Notre Dame Gridiron Golf Classic where he carded a 1-under 69 in the second round. Allcorn posted one of best showings of the season when he finished 12th at the Rice Intercollegiate with a 5-over 221. His 18th-place showing (8-over 296) helped the Bears to a fifth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship.
"Bill is one of two seniors this year that we will be looking to for veteran leadership," Priest said. "Bill is one the hardest working players I have ever had both on and off the course.
"Being one of the most experienced players on the team, Bill should see a lot of action this year."
Rounding out the core of returning players for BU are senior Carmine Mediate (Southlake, Texas), junior Weldon Martin (Houston, Texas) and sophomores Michael McKinley (Dallas, Texas) and Cody Paladino (Kensington, Conn.). Mediate did not compete during the season as a junior, but has played 22 rounds in eight career events as a freshman and a sophomore.
"We are expecting big things from Carmine this year after two disappointing seasons," Priest said. "He has had a lot of misfortune the last couple of years and most recently a broken wrist that kept him out all last spring.
"He has probably the most talent of any player on the team but has yet to put it all together. Hopefully, he is fully recovered from the injury and ready to fight for one of the five spots."
Martin competed in two events during the fall and one more in the spring, finishing the season with a 76.78 stroke average. McKinley competed individually in one event - the Border Olympics - as a redshirt freshman.
"Weldon and Michael have both seen limited action the last couple of years," Priest said. "Both have the talent to play at this level and if they stay patient and continue to work hard, they will compete for playing time this year."
Like Williams, Paladino competed in all 12 tournaments, playing in all 37 rounds. He ranked third on the team with a 74.76 stroke average, while posting a team-low 72.53 stroke average during the fall. Paladino recorded back-to-back top-10 finishes to conclude the fall; he finished tied for fourth at the Oklahoma Intercollegiate and tied for eighth at the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate.
In July 2008, Paladino competed at the 83rd U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in Aurora, Colo. He advanced to the round of 32 before falling to Oklahoma State's Rickie Fowler 4 and 3.
"Cody had a really good freshman year," Priest said. "He started strong in the fall and was really our best player.
"Being from Connecticut, he had never played golf year around. So, he tired at the end of the season. We just need to make sure he paces himself this year and takes some time off in order to be fresh and at his best when we will need him the most."
The Bears welcome five new faces to the fold this season - sophomore transfer Austin Berkovsky (Aledo, Texas), junior college product Peter Fallon (Richardson, Texas), freshman Joakim Mikkelsen (Drammen, Norway) and redshirt freshmen Neal Robinson (Dallas, Texas) and Lorenzo Scotto (Pordenone, Italy).
Berkovsky joins the Baylor golf team after spending his true freshman season at the University of Arkansas. Berkovsky made one appearance in the UA lineup at the season-opening Gopher Invitational. The Texas native was a Class 4A All-State performer for Aledo High School.
"We are very excited to have Austin joining the team this year," Priest said. "He played in one tournament last year for Arkansas as a true freshman and is coming off a very good summer with solid finishes at the Texas State Am and Cotton States. He will really add depth to our lineup and should jump in there and grab one of our starting five spots."
One of the most decorated signees under Priest's watch, Fallon played two years at Waco's McLennan Community College. He led MCC to back-to-back top-five finishes at the NJCAA Men's National Championship. In 2007, he won the NJCAA Division I National Preview title, shooting 1-over in three rounds. Fallon was selected as a PING All-American during his sophomore season and was the No. 1-ranked player in junior college by GolfStat when he signed with the Bears in the fall of 2007.
"Peter is a strong golfer and really fits nicely with our program," Priest said. "MCC has always had good golfers who have transferred away from Waco, so it is great for us to keep one closer to home."
A member of the Norwegian national team for three years, Mikkelsen helped his native Norway to the 2006 European Team Championships. He recorded four top-five finishes on the 2007 Norwegian Titleist Tour and did not finish outside the top 10 last season.
"Joakim is a very accomplished international player that we are counting on to jump into the starting rotation," Priest said.
"He is one of the most competitive and determined players and plays with tremendous amount of heart and pride which this team needs."
Robinson and Scotto did not compete for Baylor in 2007-08, taking redshirts. Robinson was a four-year letterwinner at Highland Park High School for former BU assistant coach Jeff Loyd. He won the 2006 UIL individual state title by an impressive 14 strokes.
"Neal is an awesome person that is just a pleasure to have on the team," Priest said. "He is used to winning after enjoying a highly successful high school career.
"He has been working hard on his game this past year so Neal should be ready to compete."
Scotto is the second international player on Priest's roster. He was a five-year member of the Italian National Team from 2003-07.
"Lorenzo is coming off a redshirt season where he worked hard on his game. He won two Italian Golf Federation tournaments and earned his way back onto the Italian National Team this past summer.
"He should have a tremendous amount of confidence coming into the new year."
SCHEDULE
Priest's squad will continue its trend of playing a tough schedule as the Bears will participate in events hosted by five teams that finished last year in the Golf World/NIKE Golf Top 25 poll - Texas A&M (12th), Alabama (13th), Arizona State (tied for 17th), Texas (19th) and UAB (23rd).
"I think this is our strongest schedule since I've been here and one of the strongest Baylor has ever had," Priest said. "We're looking forward to the opportunity to play a schedule against such a high caliber of competition."
The Bears will open their five-event fall season at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate hosted by UAB in Birmingham, Ala., Sept. 22-23. The following weekend, Baylor will head north to North Falmouth, Mass., to participate in the Hartford Hawks Invitational, hosted by the University of Hartford, Sept. 28-30.
Two weeks later, the Bears return to Birmingham for the two-day Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Alabama, Oct. 13-14.
Baylor returns home to host its only tournament of the season with the Baylor Intercollegiate Oct. 27-28 at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas. The 7,068-yard, par-71 course will serve as the tournament site for the 12-team field that includes Arkansas, BYU, College of Charleston, Houston, Kansas, Lamar, New Mexico, Oklahoma, SMU, Saint Mary's (Calif.) and Texas A&M. The tournament returns after a two-year hiatus; the Bears won the Baylor Invitational in 2005 when it was held in Waco.
Baylor then concludes its fall schedule at the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate in Kahuku, Hawai`i, from Nov. 10-12.
The Bears open their spring schedule with back-to-back trips to the Sunshine State. Baylor will participate in the Rio Pinar Intercollegiate in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 23-24 before traveling to Dade City, Fla., for the Ron Smith/USF Invitational March 6-8.
Williams will look to defend his individual title the following week at the annual Border Olympics March 13-14 in Laredo, Texas. Baylor faces four more tournament tests before the conference golf tournament.
The 2009 Big 12 Conference Championship, in which the Bears finished fifth last season, will be held at the Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchison, Kan., from April 27-29.
NCAA Regionals are slated for May 14-15 at six different sites, while the 112th annual NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships will be held in Toledo, Ohio, from May 27-30.
