New coach.
Half of the team are first-year or sophomore players.
Neither of these things suggests winning conditions for any sports team. And yet, the Guilford College golf team has overcome these obstacles.
With a little over a month left in the season, the Quakers’ scoring average is the best in the ODAC with three team members accounting for the majority of the top five scores in the league.
“So far the spring season is going pretty well,” said head coach Justin Tereshko. “We had two second-place finishers and one eighth place where the teams we faced off against were all ranked ahead of us. We’re definitely taking steps in the right direction.
“As for the ODAC, we’re apparently the favorite going in according to the stats. As long as the boys just take it one shot at a time, I think we’ll like where we’re at on April 21 (final day of the ODAC championship).”
Tereshko replaced Corey Maggard, who led the team for four years before leaving for the head coaching job at Auburn University. Tereshko recently graduated from Transylvania University in 2012 and has been working as the assistant coach at DePauw University for the past two seasons.
“I love it here,” said Tereshko. “The faculty and staff have been nothing but kind to me, and my players have been excellent.
“It took me a couple of weeks to get to know my players and their game, but at this point in the season I feel like I know their game pretty well and that we see eye-to-eye on certain situations. I’m excited for us to get the opportunity to represent the school at the ODAC and maybe the nationals.”
Nationals this season are being hosted by Guilford College at Grandover Resort here in Greensboro on May 12-15 for the second year in a row.
“We haven’t been quite as successful this season as in the past, but we’re coming together towards the end of the season, so we’re looking forward to competing in the ODAC championship and maybe the national championship,” said Henry Smith, senior golfer. “I believe that we are definitely the strongest team in our conference. I mean, we’ve won the conference championship for the last four years, so we expect to win it again this year.”
Maggard left some pretty big shoes to fill, as Guilford won four ODAC tournaments straight during his time, and national performance has been somewhat less spectacular. Last season ended with the team ranked 17th, and the last time the team reached the finalist bracket was 2010.
Guilford has, however, won 14 ODAC championships since joining the league in 1991 and is currently ranked 11th nationally this season as of April 3.
“I think the ODAC might be a little bit stronger top to bottom then it has been in years past, but we’ve fared pretty well this season against ODAC teams,” said Sports Information Director Dave Walters. “Teams to watch out for are Hampton-Sydney and Washington and Lee. Both have great teams this season, so they’ll be tough to beat.”
As for the younger players, sophomore Ty Palmer is currently ranked fourth in the ODAC with a 74.8 scoring average in 18 rounds while Tanner Gross, also a sophomore, trails close behind with 75.3 average in 19 rounds. Senior Drew Thompson leads the pack placing second in the ODAC with a 73.7 average in 18 rounds. These statistics are subject to change but represent the ODAC stats as of April 6.
