First ever UMW Men’s Golf team tees off practice

By MIKEY BARNES

This Fall, the University of Mary Washington welcomed a new sport to its current plethora of successful teams. Former head men’s basketball coach and current facilities director for the Anderson Center, Rod Wood will serve as the head coach for the men’s golf program. Wood has spent the last couple of years, since the announcement of his position, recruiting members for the program.

With that being said, Mary Washington has welcomed eleven new student-athletes to the athletic department as members of the golf team. Ten of those athletes are incoming freshman and include one sophomore transfer.

The athletes span from across the East Coast, reaching as far as New York and Florida. Freshman Austin Matz, coming to UMW from Wexford, Pa., will serve as the team’s captain, as Wood will look to the newcomer, to guide the very young team in the Capital Athletic Conference.

Practice officially began for the program, Tuesday Sep. 6 at Augustine Golf Club in Stafford, Va. The team will kick-off the season Monday, Sep. 12 in Harrisonburg at Lakeview Golf Course in the Tom Kinder Memorial Invitational.

When asked about his goals for the season, Matz said, “we are looking to get our foot in the door and set ourselves up for a strong spring, so we will be able to compete at the CAC championship.” With being a new program, Matz described being the first class as an “experience that everyone is looking forward to.”

Wood, Matz and the rest of the golf program will look to take the CAC by storm this year, in hopes of a victory in the Spring to advance them to DIII National Championship, which will be hosted in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. at Mission Inn Resort & Club.