One of the University of Idaho’s defining features is the sprawling golf course that blankets the southwest portion of campus. Such green pastures are a fitting analogy for the men’s golf team this year, as the team heads into the season with high expectations and experience to back them up.
Jonah Baker
The Vandals will be led by a trio of upperclassmen who have plenty of experience on big stages. Seniors Enrique Marin and Klaus Ganter led Idaho to a third-place finish at the Big Sky Conference Championships last spring, and each bring something unique to the team. Marin finished with first team All-Big Sky honors and led the team with an average round score of 72.2. Ganter tied for 44th at the Southern Dunes Invitational and led Idaho with an 11-over 227. He also recorded his best round of the year with a 2-over 74 at the same tournament.
“We look at those older guys as leaders on the team. They know the drill and they will come in day one with an understanding of what we have to do throughout the season to win a conference championship,” head coach David Nuhn said. “Getting some good reps and practice during the winter is important and I’m really looking to Enrique, Klaus, Ethan [Atherstone] and Brock [Anderson] as the upperclassmen to set examples.”
Idaho’s schedule includes five tournaments in the fall before breaking for the winter. The team will travel to University of Washington for the Husky Invitational from Sept. 25-26 and the fall season culminates in a trip out to Hawaii for the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational from Oct. 28-30.
“I’m really excited to play at the University of Washington’s event, especially since we have so many kids from the Northwest region. It will allow their parents to come out and cheer us on in a tournament we haven’t been to in awhile,” Nuhn said. “Finishing out the fall season with a trip to Hawaii is always something we look forward to, with the great competition and beautiful course.”
When the Vandals return from their winter hiatus, they will play five more tournaments before heading into the Big Sky Championships. Idaho will travel to the Farms Invitational hosted by UC San Diego from Feb. 11-12 and the regular season wraps up with the El Macero Classic at UC Davis. The Big Sky Championships will be played in Boulder City Nevada from Apr. 26-28.
“Between balancing team meetings, workouts, schoolwork and individual practices, our guys have a lot of things to balance out over our long season,” Nuhn said. “As long as our guys are able to stay organized and on top of everything, I believe we will have a successful season and hopefully live up to our potential to compete for a Big Sky championship.”
Idaho starts their season with the Ram Masters in Fort Collins, Colorado from Sep. 18-19.
Jonah Baker can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jonahpbaker