Wheeling, W.Va. – The fall golf season is here and the Wheeling University Men’s Golf team is back with a year of experience under their belts. They will kick off their fall campaign on Sunday, as they play day one of the Vulcan Invitational. With a 2021 roster that consisted mostly of freshmen and sophomores, the Cardinals are looking to build off their experiences of last season as they look to grow in 2022.
The 2021 season saw many of the male golfers get their first experience in the collegiate golf game. As the year went on, every golfer showed improvement on the course as they grew the team. In the 2021 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships, the Cardinals played in two of the three days, and finished eighth overall. After day one, the Cardinals just sat outside the top six spots to advance, finishing seventh in the field. After the second day, the Cardinals would end up dropping to eight overall. In the spring season, the Cardinals played in three different tournaments and had one representative go to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Championship, their first qualifier since the 2018 season. Along the way, the rest of the golfers saw their scores drop in the spring and look to carry that momentum into the fall.
Returning to lead the way for the Men’s Golf team in 2022 is junior Austin Panhorst and Sophia more Nick Zaller. Panhorst was the Cardinals top golfer at the 2022 MEC Championship, tying for 25th in the field with a combined score of 168. He has been the Cardinals leading golfer at the event over the last two seasons and looks to lead the way once again in 2022 In the spring season, Zaller came on as one of the top golfers in the field with an average round score of 84. As he moves into the fall season, he looks to carry that momentum into the fall season. Along with those two, the Cardinals return five of their golfers from last season. After being ranked 9th in this year’s preseason poll, they look to defy the odds and climb the conference standings in what will be year two for many of the players on the roster.
The Invitational
The Vulcan Invitational will be a nice test for the team as they will face off against several top teams from around the region. Schools from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) join Wheeling’s normal MEC competitors on the course.
The Vulcan Invitational will be a three round event beginning on Sunday as the team will play 36 holes on the opening day, followed by 18 holes on the final day of competition. They will get to play on the beautiful Cedar Brook Golf Course in Belle Vernon as they test their skills in the opener.
The Details
The Vulcan Invitational is set to kick off on Sunday, September 4th, at Cedar Brook Golf Course at 9 AM. You can follow along with Live Results by clicking HERE.