John Robinson, founder of the newly established Club Sports golf team, and Mario Dericco headed to Las Vegas this past weekend for the National Collegiate Golf Championship after taking first in Oregon State’s local qualifier.
The new team wrapped up its fall season with impressive finishes in two important tournaments. Not only did Robinson and Dericco finish first in Oregon State’s qualifier tournament in Corvallis on Oct. 27 , they also displayed great abilities against the opposition.
Every year Oregon State puts on a dad’s weekend two-person scramble, but this year they were contacted by the Collegiate Golf Alliance, which wanted to hold a national championship for non-varsity level golfers.
“We decided to combine the two. If student teams wanted to qualify or even a father-son combo, it would qualify them for the Las Vegas tournament,” director Mitch Wiltbank said.
These men not only showed Oregon State students, faculty and staff their extraordinary skill, but proved that a new team deserves a shot.
Dericco, a junior, opened the day at Oregon State with a great approach, winning closest-to-the-pin on his first shot.
“We played really well. I hit it within two feet. It was so exciting to open the day with that kind of shot,” Dericco said.
The rest of the tournament proved to be exciting and beneficial to the duo. The pair played a best-ball scramble, in which after both tee shots are hit, the team decides whose shot was best and then each member plays his next shot from that spot. Dericco and Robinson came out on top with a 6-under- par 30.
“We just completely discouraged all the Beavers,” an excited Robinson said. “We pretty much swept the tournament.”
The impressive debut earned the team an invitation to the National Collegiate Golf Championship in Las Vegas sponsored by the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association.
Last Sunday at the Revere Golf Club in the desert of Las Vegas, the team faced 80 squads from all over the United States. Robinson and Dericco were paired with two men from USC to compete for the crown in a best-ball scramble.
“We didn’t play as well as we would have liked. We had some birdies, but at the same time a lot of bogies. We just didn’t come out with the result that we had wanted,” Dericco said.
The pair came out of the tournament in the top-10 but were disappointed by the results. “We ended up taking tenth out of 80, which wasn’t too bad, but we could have done a lot better,” Robinson said.
Cal Poly Pomona ended up taking the victory with a low score of 65 followed by Miami with a 66.
For a team constructed just a season ago, the club has been displaying decent results and hopes to expand.
“I just wanted to create something for students to play golf competitively,” said Robinson, who played competitively all through high school.
Robinson took the initiative and founded the 16-member co-ed club team that currently practices at the Emerald Valley Golf Course. The players pay for practice time. The only discount they have are the student memberships offered through the golf course for $450.
“We pay for everything out of our pockets as of right now,” Robinson said. The costs include greens fees, equipment and the transportation costs.
“Any new club receives a maximum of $300 a year. I’m not sure if golf will be receiving that this year,” said Club Sports Coordinator Sandy Vaughn.
For future tournaments, Robinson hopes to send the top six players on the team, which is typical for an 18-hole tournament. As for nationals he said, “Ideally we’d like to send four teams to nationals next year.”
It is all a matter of time, effort and enthusiasm with the players. As of right now they are showing a considerable amount of promise for the future.
The team will now begin their winter break and are currently finalizing the spring tournament schedule with various northwest schools. Anyone interested in joining the club golf team should attend a mandatory informational meeting to be held the first week of winter term.
Club Sports gives golfers the shot of a lifetime
Daily Emerald
November 15, 2006
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