NEWBERRY — The Wolves will begin their season ranked eighth on the Bushnell Golfweek Division II Coaches poll. Newberry dropped two spots from the previous poll released in August.
West Florida grabbed the top spot with all 17 first-place votes. Lynn jumped two spots to take second-place while Florida Southern fell to third. Barry and Nova Southeastern rounded out the top five.
Newberry made the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships and advanced to the match play quarterfinals before falling to top-ranked West Florida 4-1. The team finished in a tie for fifth in the nation.
Last season, Newberry competed in 12 events and finished in the top three in half of its tournaments. The Wolves had a trio of sixth-place finishes at the Division I Cape Fear Intercollegiate, the 20-team NCAA South/Southeast Regional, and in the 20-team stroke play portion of the NCAA Championships.
This season will see the return of several key players including Carlos Leandro, Spencer Skiff, and Harry Bolton. Leandro, a Second-Team All-American, finished the season as the eighth-ranked golfer in Division II according to Golfstat.
Skiff and Bolton both ranked in the Golfstat top 100 at No. 50 and No. 97. Coach Howard Vroon enters his seventh season as the defending Southeast Region Coach of the Year.
The Wolves’ season opener in St. Augustine was cancelled due to damage from Hurricane Irma. Newberry will begin play on Oct. 2 at the UNG Fall Invitational.