William and Mary Golf Heads to the Colonial Athletic Association Championships

Tribe Looking for First Conference Titles Since 1985, Automatic Bids to NCAA Regionals

04/19/07 5:15PM

WILLIAMSBURG - The William and Mary men's and women's golf teams travel to Hot Springs, Virginia this weekend for the Colonial Athletic Association Championships at The Homestead. Both teams are considered to be in the middle of the title hunt, as they showcased the ability for stellar play during the regular season.

The Men
-Sophomore Doug Hurson (Bethesda, Md.) has led the men's team this season, finishing as the first Tribe golfer in five of the team's eight tournaments. His season stroke average of 73.76 ranks fourth on the W&M all-time single-season list, and GolfWeek has him rated as the 11th-best player in the CAA this season.

-Senior Ryan Price (Chantilly, Va.) has had a tremendous final season, shooting nearly one-and-a-half strokes below his career average to the tune of 74.82 strokes per 18 holes. Price has been the number two golfer for the team in seven of eight tournaments this year, and set a new career-low round by shooting 70 at the Joe Agee Invitational in October.

-Freshman Conor O'Brien (Weatogue, Conn.) has played impressively in his first collegiate season. Appearing in seven rounds, he shot 70 in the second round of the Joe Agee Invitational en route to finishing tied for 36th. His 76.43 season average ranks seventh all-time among W&M freshmen.

-Three members of this year's team currently stand among the all-time career average leaders at William and Mary. Sophomore Doug Hurson is currently ranked third (74.52), classmate Brent Paladino (Kensington, Conn.) is fifth (74.74), and senior Ryan Price is seventh (76.12).

-The team is ranked 140th in the nation as of April 15 by GolfWeek magazine, fifth in the CAA. The Tribe's best finish this year was at the Hoya Invitational, where it placed second in the 12-team field. At the Joe Agee Invitational in October, W&M shot 281 in the third and final round, the best team round in school history. For the season, W&M is averaging 300.33 strokes per round, and has an overall record of 76-41-1 (.648).

The Women
-Juniors Marissa Sprick (Windermere, Fla.) and Erika Oldenkamp (Hinsdale, Ill.) have led the team this spring after returning from studying overseas in the fall. Sprick leads the team with an average of 80.33 strokes per round and a record of 146-57-5 (.714). Oldenkamp ranks second on the squad with an average of 81.63 strokes per round.

-Senior captain Melissa DePuy (Naples, Fla.) holds the low-round honors for the Tribe so far this season, shooting a career-best 74 in the first round of the Bobcat Desert Classic.

-Freshmen Brielle Paolini (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Morgan Stepanek (Guilford, Conn.) have been mainstays for the College this season, appearing in all 16 rounds played so far. Paolini has averaged 82.5 strokes per round, and has shot at least one round of 77 in each of the team's last four events. Stepanek is averaging 83.75 strokes per round, and hit her collegiate-best round of 76 in the first round of the Bobcat Desert Classic.

-Three upperclassmen currently rank among the all-time top-10 golfers in school history according to career average. Junior Erika Oldenkamp is third all-time with an average of 80.44, classmate Misha Harvey (Forest, Va.) is tied for fifth all-time at 81.02, and senior captain Melissa DePuy is seventh all-time with an average of 81.36.

-William and Mary's best finish this year came at the Bobcat Desert Classic in March, as it tied for eighth in the 20-team field. Keying that success were two historic performances. In the first round and the third round of the event, every W&M golfer shot 79 or lower, the only two times that has happened in the history of the women's golf program.

The Course
The Homestead is one of the oldest and most luxurious resorts in the United States, having been founded in 1766. It has served as host to numerous Presidents over the years, from George Washington to George W. Bush.

Its three courses have been unofficially referred to as the home of Virginia golf, and so provide a familiar backdrop for all of William and Mary's players. The Old Course, host to the CAA women's championship, is home of the oldest first tee in the the United States. First opened in 1892 as part of a six-hole layout, the course was enlarged to 18 holes and 6,000 yards by 1901 and was professionally re-designed by Donald Ross in 1913. This year, the women are playing every one of those 6,000 yards, and will face a par-score of 72.

The men will be playing on The Cascades Course, the finest mountain course in the nation. Designed by William S. Flynn in 1923, the course this year features 6,679 yards of breath-taking beauty and a par of 70 strokes. Home to the 1932 National Intercollegiate and 2004 NCAA Division I Championship, The Cascades' mountain home influences play, but does not dictate it. In 1932, William and Mary captain Morton Jaffee played in the National Intercollegiate, tying Walker Cup player Billy Howell in qualifying.

The Event
This is the 24th CAA men's championship, and the fifth women's championship. The Homestead has hosted the men's tournament four times, and the women's once, with 2005 being the last time for both sides. Georgia State is the defending champ in both events, claiming the titles in its first year in the CAA.

William and Mary won the second men's championship in 1985, back when the conference was known as the ECAC-South. After losing by one stroke to Navy in the inaugural tournament in 1984, the Tribe stormed to a 17-stroke victory in 1985 behind co-medalists Mike Gregor and John McHenry. It still ranks as the sixth-largest margin of victory in conference history.

The winners of the men's and women's championships each receive an automatic bid the NCAA Regionals and a shot at qualifying for the National Championships.