Men’s golf, under the direction of first year head coach Walt Williams, has aspirations of winning the Sun Belt Conference.

“I think we have a few new additions to the team that should improve the team,” said Williams. “We have a couple of guys here that are a little more seasoned than they were last year. I expect the team to be more competitive.”

The Warhawks golf team opened the fall portion of its season at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate in Hattiesburg, MS. The team didn’t have an excellent overall showing as they finished 14th out of 15 teams.

“In the first two rounds we played really well and were very competitive,” said Williams. “In the final round we maybe got a little ahead of ourselves and fell back in the pack.”

Sophomore, Greg Smail, was the team’s top finisher. He shot 67 and 69 in the first two rounds. Smail went on to finish 26th overall in the tournament. He is confident that his performance will not only spark himself but give the team a boost in coming tournaments as well.

“The team is looking a lot stronger than it did last year,” said Smail. “We’re just trying to improve on what we did last year. We’re definitely going to be a lot better this year. There’s no doubt about it.”

Junior, Mason Seaborn, will also be returning.

Last season he was statistically the Warhawks best golfer.  He shot an average of 74.5 and had a second overall finish at the Houston Baptist Men’s Intercollegiate.

Williams believes his group has a realistic chance of winning conference championships not only this year but in years to come as well.

“Our goal is always going to be to win the conference championship and advance to the NCAA Regionals,” said Williams. “That’s going to be our goal every year. Whether we can obtain that or not has yet to be seen. That’s what we are going to strive for.”

The team’s next tournament is Sept. 30 at the Houston Baptist Men’s Intercollegiate in Houston, TX. The fall portion of the schedule will end on Nov. 5 at the Arkansas State Fall Beach Classic in Biloxi, MS.

The spring portion of the schedule is normally the most important. Conference play begins and all of the work from the fall shines through.

Veteran players on the team understand what it takes in the fall to prepare for a successful spring. The entire season officially ends in May with the conference championship.