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Thirty Years Later, Mountaineers Tee Off
September 03, 2015 12:51 PM | Golf
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – After two years – and three decades – in the making, the West Virginia University golf team will tee off this weekend at the Tiger Turning Stone Invitational in Verona, New York, marking the Mountaineers’ first varsity competition since 1982.
Former director of athletics Oliver Luck re-introduced the sport in July of 2013, focusing on the tradition on campus, the growth of the sport in the state of West Virginia and the need for an additional men’s program sponsored by the Big 12 Conference.
“Golf had a strong tradition on this campus, and its statewide popularity makes it a perfect addition to our department,” said Luck at the time. “A lot of thought, time and effort went into this decision as far as cost, travel and infrastructure goes, and I believe the strong tradition and history of Big 12 golf will only enhance our chances of building a championship program.”
The Big 12 successfully produces professional male golfers year after year, with some of the most recent being Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth. While at Oklahoma State, Fowler earned the 2008 Ben Hogan Award, presented annually to the top collegiate golfer. He turned pro in 2009 and has won four events on the PGA Tour since them. Spieth won the 2014 Masters Tournament in record fashion just three years after leaving Texas to join the professional ranks.
With this in mind, Luck tabbed former Mississippi State assistant Sean Covich as the new coach of the Mountaineers in May 2014. Covich successfully recruited SEC talent the three years he spent in Starkville, helping the Bulldogs to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and guiding Chad Ramey to All-SEC accolades for three consecutive seasons. In addition, Covich brought with him to Morgantown five seasons of head coaching experience, as he previously served as the coach at Meridian Community College, leading MCC to 18 tournament championships, four top-10 finishes at the NJCAA Championships and an individual national champion in T.J. Morgan.
“Sean has experienced tremendous success in his eight years as a golf coach,” said Luck at a press conference announcing Covich’s hiring. “He is a relentless recruiter who has been known to find diamonds in the rough out on the recruiting trails.”
The first order of business for Covich was to find players for a team that wouldn’t compete for another 15 months. By September, he had his first four. Jon Ransone, an Ohio native looking to transfer after spending his freshman season at Toledo, was the first to get in touch. An acquaintance at Penn State notified Covich of a player who had previously left Coastal Carolina and was looking for a new program. The Nittany Lions didn’t have room for him but pointed him in the direction of a team close to home looking for players and soon after, Easton Renwick was a Mountaineer. Tae Wan Lee of Seoul, South Korea, arrived in Morgantown as a top high school prospect who redshirted his freshman season at Florida. Covich didn’t have to look far for the final member of his foursome. Mason Short had played a semester at Maryland before transferring to WVU upon hearing rumors of a golf team about to start. He had even competed for the WVU club golf team, winning the NCGA National Championship and earning an exemption into the Southern Amateur.
“I was hoping to find a few upperclassmen with previous collegiate experience to help build this program from scratch and believe that they will bring instant leadership and experience to our team as we continue to recruit future student-athletes,” said Covich in August of 2014. “While each player has taken a different path to West Virginia, they all share a common goal in wanting to lay a strong foundation for Mountaineer golfers. I am grateful for their confidence in me and in WVU.”
The next step was finding a place, or places, to practice. Since the University does not have its own golf course, the Mountaineers were forced to get creative in finding their space. Eight different courses were announced as practice or tournament homes for the Mountaineers: Lakeview Golf Course, Mountainview Golf Course and The Pines Country Club (all located in Morgantown); The Links at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Mystic Rock, Nemacolin Golf Academy (all located at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington, Pennsylvania); Pete Dye Golf Club (Bridgeport) and the Arnold Palmer Signature Course at Stonewall Resort (Roanoke).
West Virginia practiced and held intersquad competitions throughout the year, jetting to Florida a few times for a change of scenery. The Mountaineers also immersed themselves in the city of Morgantown and its people, participating in community service activities at WVU Children’s Hospital, Stepping Stones, the Gathering of Mountain Eagles and more.
The team also got an indoor practice facility, as the school converted a former dance studio in the WVU Coliseum into a spot for putting and chipping. Covich invested in a Trackman Golf Simulator, allowing the players to monitor their swing from the comfort of the Coliseum during the long Morgantown winters.
In January, the team landed its first West Virginia native. Chris Williams, of Scott Depot, left Coastal Carolina, where he had seen action as a freshman, to return home and play for the school for whom grew up rooting. Fellow native Alan Cooke, of Parkersburg, announced his intentions to return home that spring after he finished his sophomore year of competition at USC Beaufort.
Three other golfers who committed to the Mountaineers in November of 2014 arrived on campus the following August. Like Williams and Cooke, Wheeling native Cole Hand chose to stay close to home and don the Old Gold and Blue. He was joined by Australian Tristan Nicholls and Canadian Max Sear. All three arrived as freshman in 2015 and will be the first four-year members of the new Mountaineer squad.
Just a few weeks before practice began, Avery Schneider joined the team after spending his freshman season at Drexel. The addition of the Ohio native brought the WVU roster to 10, a far cry from the original four it had been 12 months earlier. Covich also took on a graduate assistant in the form of Michael Molinari, a former WVU kicker who turned down a chance to work with the football program to help with the Mountaineer golf team.
We are all excited to start competition officially this season,” said Covich. “Last year was a long process of figuring out a lot of logistics and seeing what works for us as a program. Now we get to implement those plans and of course, continue learning. Our No. 1 goal will remain the same- to represent West Virginia University with class on and off the golf course."
The Mountaineers embark on their 2015-16 schedule on September 6, when they travel to Verona, New York, to take part in the two-day Tiger Turning Stone Invitational at Turning Stone Resort. The full slate includes 12 tournaments in addition to the Big 12 Championships, set for April 29-May 1 at Whispering Pines Country Club in Trinity, Texas. West Virginia will play their first in-state competition September 14-15 at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational in Huntington before playing host to the inaugural Mountaineer Intercollegiate at the Pete Dye Golf Course in Bridgeport October 19-20.
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