Golf

Dominated by underclassmen and missing top golfers from a year ago, youth stands as the biggest obstacle facing the Oregon men’s and women’s golf teams this year.
The men’s team has seven freshmen and will no longer have the services of Aaron Byers, a Golf Coaches Association of America All-Region selection as a senior who finished this past year with six top-10 finishes and a stoke average of 72.3.
Despite the relative lack of experience, men’s head coach Steve Nosler said he is confident his returning players will allow the team to be competitive.
“We’re going to be very young,” Nosler said. “But I expect to be very, very competitive this year.”
Senior co-captains John Ellis and Chris Carnahan, along with juniors Mike Sica and Jimmy White, provide experience to a youthful squad.
Ellis, a two-time all Pacific-10 Conference selection who qualified for match play at the U.S. Amateur, finished last season with a stroke average of 72.6. Carnahan is a three-time all Pac-10 selection and finished last season averaging 73.2 strokes. Sica finished the regular season with a stroke average of 75.3 and White ended season play with an average of 75.8 strokes.
Big things are also expected from true freshman Gregg LaVoie. Nosler said he expects LaVoie to be an “impact player right off the bat.”
The men open their season with the Windon Memorial Classic in Chicago on Sept. 30.
Like the men’s team, the women hope to overcome youthfulness as well.
Coming off what women’s head coach Shannon Rouillard called a “growth and development season,” Rouillard said the team should improve but added it will be up to her returning golfers to lead the way.
“We’re still young,” Rouillard said. “But we’ll definitely be better than last year.”
The women’s team, which fills six of 10 roster spots with freshmen and sophomores, no longer has Kathy Cho to lead the team on and off the links. Cho, who was selected to the Pac-10’s All-Academic first team as a senior and finished with a stroke average of 77, has graduated.
The women’s top returning golfers include junior Lacey Erickson and sophomores Johnna Nealy, Jess Carlyon and Jaime Seefried.
Rouillard said Erickson had a “tremendous year last year” and added she is expected to continue her solid play. Erickson finished with a stroke average of 81.5.
Rouillard also praised her sophomore trio for the “great job” they did as true freshmen.
The women opened the season Sept. 16 at the Oregon State University/Shanico Invitational in Corvallis. On Oct. 7, the team will travel to Tacoma to compete in the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational.