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Published October 21st, 2015
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Depth Leads to Strong Start for Saint Mary's Men's Golf
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| By Karl Buscheck |
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| Jonathan De Los Reyes Photo Tod Fierner |
With Jonathan De Los Reyes anchoring the squad, the Saint Mary's men's golf team is cruising along early in the campaign.
"Obviously, we're led by Jonathan De Los Reyes," head coach Scott Hardy said of the senior, who was a preseason all-West Coast Conference selection. "He's one of the best college players in the country."
De Los Reyes has been the star, but the key for the Gaels has been everyone chipping in.
"Honestly, the team's success comes from the fact that all five of our guys can play," said Hardy, who has been named the WCC Coach of The Year eight times in his 15 seasons with the program, including last year. "We have a deep lineup. A lot of times in college golf, it's hard to get a four and five guy to contribute a lot, and we really don't have that problem."
Pavan Sagoo is another member of that deep lineup who has stood out. At the Nick Watney Invitational in Fresno on Oct. 5 and 6, the sophomore fired off a 16-under par 197, which was the best 54-hole score in Saint Mary's history.
"It was quite a performance," Hardy said. "It was also the lowest total ever shot at that tournament and they've had an unbelievable list of winners - Phil Mickelson's won it, Tom Watson - a bunch of established tour pros have won that tournament. So it was neat for Pavan to set those records."
While Sagoo wrote his name into the record books, the Gaels topped the field at the tournament. The title at the Nick Watney Invitational was just business as usual for Saint Mary's.
The team was the co-champion at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic in South Bend, Indiana on Sept. 21 and 22 and the runner-up at the Saint Mary's Invitational at Pebble Beach from Sept. 14-16.
For now, the Gaels' focus is on the upcoming trip to El Paso, Texas on Oct. 23-25 for the Price's "Give 'Em Five" Invitational, but the team has major plans for the rest of the season.
"Our main goal for the year is always to win our conference championship," Hardy said. "That's always a big deal for us."
Last year, Saint Mary's landed in third place at the WCC Golf Championship before finishing in eighth at the NCCA Regionals.
"Our big goals are to get into the NCAA postseason, which is the regional tournament," Hardy said. "And then once you're in regionals, advance onto the national championship; I think that's what we have our sites set on more than anything else is making it to nationals."
Hardy believes that his talented team has the ideal mindset to accomplish those objectives.
"I think they've got a little bit of a chip on their shoulder as well because we weren't ranked in any of the preseason rankings," Hardy said. "And I think they knew that they were going to be good, but nobody else knew it. So, I think they kind of have something to prove and they're out to show everybody how good they are."
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA