The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Golf Team Ranked No. 17 In The Nation
10/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Oct. 3, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's golf team, coming off back-to-back outstanding performances in its first two tournaments of the fall season, checks in at No. 17 in the nation according to the latest Golfstat/Sagrin national rankings released Wednesday.
The Blazers are coming off a pair of second-place finishes at two high profile tournaments, the Poppyhills Intercollegiate (Sept. 10-11) and the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate (Sept. 24-25).
"I am pleased where we are as a team right now," UAB men's golf head coach Alan Kaufman said. "We have played well in both tournaments so far, and could have won both if we played a little better. The good thing is, we still have a lot of room to improve, and if we do, this team could be capable of cracking the top-10 nationally before the fall season ends."
The Blazers returned all but one golfer from last year's NCAA Regional qualifying team, and are led on the year by a pair of veteran golfers in senior Brad Smith and junior Zach Sucher. Additionally, the 2007-08 recruiting class was deemed by Kaufman as possibly one of the best classes in the program's history.
Smith led UAB in both of its tournaments this season, and captured his first-ever medalist honor when he finished in a tie for first overall at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate. Due to his performance at the Shoal Creek event, the Hawthorne, Australia native earned his first Conference USA Golfer of the Week award. Smith nearly captured the individual title in the Blazers' first competition of the fall, as he entered the Poppyhills Intercollegiate's final round in the overall lead. However, Smith would close the event in third overall.
Sucher has carried his momentum from earning honorable mention All-America accolades last season into the 2007-08 campaign. During the 2007 NCAA Championship, Sucher finished tied for fourth overall, which tied for the best-ever finish by a UAB golfer. Last weekend at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate, Sucher closed play in third overall.
"I think this team has a lot of potential and talent," Kaufman said. "They are a real hard-working group and always strive to get better. As long as we stay healthy and stay focused, then I think we are in for an exciting season."
The Golfweek/Sagarin rankings are computerized rankings that heavily weigh results on the course and strength of schedule. The system is based on a mathematical formula that uses a team's won-lost-tied record against other teams when they play on the same course on the same day and the stroke differential between those teams, then links all teams to one another based on common opponents.
The Blazers will have another challenging outing in their next tournament when they compete at the Jerry Pate National at Old Overton Golf Course on Oct. 8-9.
