Northwestern University Athletics
Nationally Ranked Wildcats Get First Spring Test at Rice Intercollegiate
2/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 7, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's spring season officially gets underway Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 10-11 at the Third Annual Rice Intercollegiate, which is being played at the BlackHorse Golf Club (North Course), just outside of Houston in Cypress, Texas.
According to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin power index, the Wildcats are the highest-ranked school playing in the 13-team tournament. Northwestern, which is ranked 14th in the index, will be considered one of the favorites, along with 20th-ranked Tennessee, 41st-ranked Kansas State and 48th-ranked Missouri. The Volunteers are the defending tournament champion.
Other teams participating in the tournament include Coastal Carolina, Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi State, North Texas, San Diego, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, Virginia and the host school, Rice.
"We are excited to get back out and compete after the 3 1/2 month layoff," says NU head coach Pat Goss. "We have had a good winter of practice and have seen improvement from every player. Now I am anxious to see where we are at competitively."
The Wildcats participated in four fall events and captured their own Windon Memorial Classic in early October for their first tournament championship since winning the Big Ten Championships in 2001.
"Our success this spring will hinge on two combinations," says Goss. "First, Tom, Scott and Bjorn must all compete for individual titles, and battle and push each other. Second, we must get improved play at the fourth and fifth spots. If that happens, this could be a pretty special team."
The Rice Intercollegiate begins with a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. on Monday. The teams will play 36 holes the first day, followed by 18 more holes Tuesday.
