GARY BAINES: A Matter Of Perspective

In a League of Their Own,
For at Least One Week

Several Colorado college teams shined in conference tourneys last week

   College golf seldom draws much attention in the mainstream media in Colorado, but last week it deserved more of the spotlight.

     Collectively speaking for Colorado-based college programs, there has seldom been a week as successful as was the stretch from April 21-27. In those seven days, four Colorado college golf teams won conference titles, four Colorado coaches were named league coaches of the year, and two players earned top honors in their conferences.

     Not bad for a state that isn’t known as a powerhouse in college golf.

     Some of the accolades were expected, and some weren’t, but it was a memorable week either way.

     Making the biggest splashes were three NCAA Division I teams — the University of Denver men and women, and the Colorado State men. But a Division II men’s team — from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs — also made some noise.

     The most predictable of the performances came from the DU women, the 11th-ranked team in the nation according to Golfweek magazine. That the Pioneers won the Sun Belt Conference title was no surprise, but the fact that it was an unprecedented fifth straight league championship — and that it came by a 42-stroke margin — was certainly impressive.

     “I couldn’t be more pleased with our performance,” said Sammie Chergo, who for the fourth time was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year.

     DU sophomore Stephanie Sherlock won her second straight Sun Belt title — this time by 10 shots — and was joined on the all-conference team by teammates Katie Kempter, Dawn Shockley and Chelsea Benton.

    Joining in the fun for DU was coach Eric Hoos’ men’s program, which won its first Sun Belt championship, edging New Orleans by one shot. Three Pioneer men earned all-conference honors: Daniel Wax, Espen Kofstad and Jeff Koprivetz.

     “I just couldn’t be more proud of the effort it took for us to win this tournament,” Hoos said. “We’ve come close to winning this before and for us to put it all together and finally win one for our university is really something special for our team. It’s something I’ll always remember.”

     The Colorado State men also will have indelible memories from last week after likewise capturing the first conference title in program history. The Rams rallied to win the Mountain West crown by four shots over Texas Christian.

     “It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” coach Jamie Bermel said shortly after CSU claimed the championship. “After I got the Gatorade bath, it really felt different. This is a tough conference, and with four sophomores and a junior out there competing, they probably didn’t know what they were accomplishing.”

     Bermel was named MWC coach of the year for the second time since 2004 and sophomores Dustin Morris and Bryce Hanstad gained all-MWC honors.

      Meanwhile, at the Division II level, CU-Colorado Springs last week clinched its third straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men’s title. UCCS subsequently captured the RMAC’s top awards, with Phil Trujillo named coach of the year, Todd Napiloski player of the year and Brian Morfeld freshman of the year. Tyler Bishop  and David Cosel joined Napiloski on the All-RMAC team.

      In RMAC women’s golf, Mesa State’s Butch Miller earned coach of the year honors for the second straight year.

       It wasn’t smiles all around for Colorado-based college golf teams last week — for instance, the CU men and women were 10th and 11th, respectively, in the Big 12 tournaments — but generally speaking it was a week to remember for college golf in the state.

Monday, April 28, 2008