Golfers Head To Washington for NCAA Regionals
5/4/2015 10:48:00 AM | Men's Golf
When J. T. Taylor tapped in his final putt on the 72nd hole of the Southland Conference men's golf April 22 to clinch the team title for Sam Houston, he mirrored an achievement by his father as a Bearkat 33 years ago.
The younger Taylor became the eighth Sam Houston golfer to win the Southland Conference individual medalist championship with a score of 70-72-71 – 213.
In 1982, his father Tommy Taylor won the Lone Star Conference individual championship with a 72-70-73 – 215 total score. Both father and son chalked up their league titles as seniors for Sam Houston State University.
Taylor's performance helped the Bearkat men earn their second consecutive Southland Conference men's golf championship and earn the league's automatic bid for the NCAA Regional Championships. Taylor is one of three seniors on the 2015 squad. Taylor, a Conroe native, Zach Cabra of McKinney and Logan Boatner of Atascocita all have played important roles in the golf program's amazing rise to national prominence in the past two seasons.
The trio along with sophomore Andrew Ertel of The Woodlands and freshman Jake McCrory from Deer Park learned Monday they will be competing in the University of Washington regional at the famed Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington, Thursday, May 14 through Saturday, May 16.
The top five finishers at regionals and top two individuals not on a qualifying team earn berths in the NCAA Men's Golf Championships to be held May 29 through June 3 at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. Sam Houston is the number eight seed in the 14-team event.
Last year, Sam Houston made its first ever NCAA Division I regional golf appearance at Auburn, Alabama. The Bearkats placed 11th in the team standings but were just five strokes behind the fifth qualifying team.
“We're looking forward to getting back to the regionals,” head coach Brandt Kieschnick said. “We've really built on last year's performance at the regional. We've drawn on that experience all year. We're a deeper team this year and coming a five shots from nationals has expanded our horizons. We have five players who have the ability to shoot in the 60s on any given day and feel like we're a dangerous team.
“Gold Mountain Golf Club is an amazing course and we will be going up against an outstanding field. It's going to be a great experience.”
Sam Houston's back-to-back Southland champions ended a 20-year drought since the Kats' last league title. A program that produced four NAIA national championship teams in the late 1970s and early 1980s (when Taylor's father played) now is back in the national limelight.
In the Bearkats' 11 tournaments this year – all against top caliber NCAA Division I opponents – Sam Houston was won three events, finished as runner-up twice and third once.
“It's amazing to see just how far this program has come since I came here two years ago as a transfer,” Cabra said. “This program has improved not just in terms of how every has played but how mature everybody on the team is and how much they want to win.”
Cabra, who won the Southland Conference individual medalist championship a year ago, holds Sam Houston's all-time best career stroke average with a 71.67 mark. He placed 19th in last year's regional at Auburn.
Two weeks ago at the Southland Conference tournament the Kats were tested in a nail-biting finish that saw Sam Houston edge McNeese State by two strokes on the challenging Dye Course at Stonebridge Country Club in McKinney.
“The golf course is one of the hardest we play all year,” Taylor said. “To play well here over three tough days is pretty much a dream come true. I'm honored, humbled and blessed to win.”
Kieschnick believes the intense competition with McNeese State in the final few holes of this week's Southland event will benefit his team.
“It was a fight. We had a six shot lead after the first round and then we lost it,” Kieschnick said. “Every one of our five guys fought hard to take it back. McNeese is a great team. It literally came down to the last hole. We needed someone to challenge us. This will help us so much going up against the outstanding competition we'll face at the NCAA regional tournament.”
Taylor came to Sam Houston three years ago as a transfer from McLennon Community College. He red-shirted last season and is looking forward to his first NCAA regional tournament experience.
“It's mind-boggling how far our golf program has come in the past few years,” Taylor said. “Everyone on this team is dedicated and super hard-working. It pays off in times like this week. To come out here and win and being heading to the NCAA regional is awesome.”
As Sam Houston's head coach, Kieschnick holds the unique status as the only individual to earn both Southland Conference “Player of the Year” and “Coach of the Year” honors. He achieved each honor twice, being voted as “Player of the Year” in 1997 and 1999 as a Bearkat student-athlete and “Coach of the Year” the past two seasons.
After graduation from Sam Houston, Kieschnick played professional golf from 1999 to 2003.
“At this level, college players have PGA tour talent level. They just haven't matured,” Kieschnick said. “As coaches, we try to put our professional knowledge on their shoulders.”
Along with assistant coach Tommy Chain, Kieschnick works each day with the Sam Houston players with a lot of emphasis on the mental aspect of the gamee.
“As a coach I respect every one of these players,” Kieschnick said. “I think they go about it the right way. We talk about how golf is so much about discipline and so much about each shot and the mental game. We work on that all year. The players have been getting better throughout the spring. It's very rewarding.”
Although golf may seem like an individual sport, Cabra and his fellow players enjoy the team aspect of the college game.
“As players we really lift each other up,” Cabra said. “We've really built on last year's trip to regionals. We've learned a lot about playing the game and making the scores come easier.”
Should Sam Houston achieve their goal of earning an NCAA national championship tournament at regionals, the Bearkats would again have the opportunity to be featured on a national cable telecast. The championships at Brandenton, Florida, will be televised live by The Golf Channel.
