The golf season may just be starting for many people in Colorado, but this time of year marks the beginning of the end for college golfers.
Conference tournaments, the lead-ins to possible NCAA regional meets and cherished berths in the NCAA Championship finals, will be held over the next three weeks for Colorado-based schools. The University of Denver women, and men’s teams from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference — which includes a couple of nationally ranked Division II programs — will kick things off on Monday (April 16).
The various conference meets feature several notable storylines for local teams. The DU women, for instance, are seeking their ninth consecutive Sun Belt Conference title, and the DU men are looking for their third Sun Belt championship in five years.
Meanwhile, the University of Colorado women, ranked among the top dozen Division I female teams in the nation, will face a formidable test in the Pac-12, arguably the toughest women’s golf conference in the nation. That league meet will set the table for the Buffs hosting the NCAA West Regional May 10-12 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. (CU sophomore Alex Stewart, winner of a tournament in late February, is pictured above.)
Here’s a rundown of all the Division I conference championships featuring Colorado teams, plus the RMAC men’s meet, which includes the top local non-Division I programs the state has to offer. (The tournaments are listed in chronological order.)
— Sun Belt Conference Women, April 16-18 in Muscle Shoals, Ala. — Colorado team competing: Denver. … The Pioneers, winners of the last eight Sun Belt championships, are ranked 34th in the nation by the coaches and 44th by Golfstat. … DU’s only top-five team finish of the season was a second in Dick McGuire Invitational in late September. … Denver’s best individual showings of the season are eighths by Kelly Drack and Tonje Daffinrud. Drack is ranked 98th in the nation by Golfweek.
— RMAC Men, April 16-17 in Litchfield Park, Ariz. — Colorado teams competing: Adams State, Colorado Christian, Colorado Mesa, Colorado Mines, Colorado State-Pueblo, Fort Lewis, Regis and CU-Colorado Springs. … Colorado School of Mines, winner of five team titles this season, owns the league’s best stroke average and is ranked 30th nationally in the Division II coaches’ poll. … CU-Colorado Springs, twice a team champion this season, checks in even higher, at No. 21 in the coaches’ rankings. … CSU-Pueblo is the defending conference tournament champion but hasn’t won a team title this season. … Mines senior Jim Knous is the highest-ranked male golfer from a Colorado school — regardless of classification — standing 155th in the country, according to Golfstat. Knous has won three individual titles this season.
— Mountain West Conference Women, April 20-22 in Phoenix — Colorado team competing: Colorado State. … CSU is coming off its best team finish of the season, a runner-up showing at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic. … CSU senior Brianna Espinoza won the individual title at the Cowgirl Classic. … Rams teammate Betsy Kelly was second in 2011 MWC tournament.
— Big Sky Conference Women, April 22-24 in Chandler, Ariz. — Colorado team competing: Northern Colorado. … UNC’s best team finish of the season was a third in October. … The Bears’ top individual finish was also a third, by Carleigh Silvers in the Santa Clara Colby Invitational in late October.
— Sun Belt Conference Men, April 23-25 in Muscle Shoals, Ala. — Colorado team competing: Denver. … The Pioneers will be defending their team title after prevailing in the weather-shortened conference tournament in 2011. … DU’s two third-place team finishes are their best of the season. … Individually, a fifth-place showing by Oskar Arvidsson has been tops by a Pioneer.
— Pac-12 Conference Women, April 27-29 in Pullman, Wash. — Colorado team competing: Colorado. … The Buffs are ranked the highest they’ve ever been nationally, sitting 11th according to the coaches and Golfweek, and 12th in Golfstat. … The Buffs will face one of their biggest challenges of the season as three fellow Pac-12 teams — UCLA, USC and Arizona State — are ranked in the top four in the country. UCLA is the only team in the top 25 to have won more tournaments (five) than CU this season. … The Buffs have claimed a program-record three team titles this season, including back-to-back championships in their last two invitationals. They’ve also been runner-up twice. But CU will be competing in a multi-team event for the first time in a month. … CU’s Stewart and senior Jessica Wallace have posted individual victories this season. … Stewart is ranked as high as 36th nationally among female college players, while Emily Talley is 47th and Wallace 74th.
— Pac-12 Conference Men, April 27-29 in Corvallis, Ore. — Colorado team competing: Colorado. … The Buffs won their first tournament of the season, then tied for first and lost in a playoff in their second meet. CU’s only top-five showing since then came in its last event, the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, where the Buffs placed second. … Junior Beau Schoolcraft has recorded first- and third-place finishes individually this season. … CU was hurt in midseason by the loss of Sebastian Heisele, who turned pro in December. Heisele had one of the team’s top scoring averages in the fall (72.08). … The Buffs face a tall task at their first Pac-12 Championships as six of the top 14 teams in the nation are from the conference, according to Golfstat. CU is currently ranked 72nd.
— America Sky Conference Men, April 30-May 2 in North Stonington, Conn. — Colorado team competing: Northern Colorado. … Earlier this month, UNC had its most impressive performance of the season. The Bears tied for first and lost in playoff to Seton Hall at the Fireline Towson Invitational. UNC freshman Steven Kupcho placed second individually at the Towson Invite. … The Bears finished third at the America Sky Championship in 2011.
— Mountain West Conference Men, May 4-6 in Tucson, Ariz. — Colorado teams competing: Air Force Academy and Colorado State. … CSU senior Mike Wuertz shared the individual title in his last event, the Wyoming Cowboy Classic. Zahkai Brown, Kirby Pettitt and Cameron Harrell have joined Wuertz in posting top-five individual finishes during the course of this season. … CSU’s best team performances of the season have been two third-place showings, both in the fall. The Rams are ranked 64th in the nation, according to Golfstat. … Air Force won the Service Academy Golf Classic in the fall. The Falcons’ Kyle Westmoreland claimed the individual title in the Service Academy Classic. … Both CSU and Air Force will compete in the Cougar Classic in Provo, Utah April 27-28 before playing in the conference tournament.
