Kris Schmelzer
The Wittenberg University men's golf team looks very strong entering the 2005 spring campaign, and hopes are high around the greens in Springfield that the Tigers will make a return to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in almost 15 years.
With 11 men making up the Tiger team, the depth and talent on the 2004-05 team are unparalleled in recent years. With the return of five letterwinners and the addition of four potentially outstanding freshmen, the Tigers are shooting for their first NCAA Division III Tournament berth since 1991.
Leading the charge is Andy Bonar (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster), the team's lone senior who has earned All-NCAC honors in each of his first three seasons for Wittenberg. Bonar has led the team in scoring average each of the last three years, including his best season to date in 2004 when he finished with an average of 75.8 strokes per round. He capped his junior campaign with a third-place finish in the NCAC Tournament, good for the first first-team All-NCAC honor of his career.
Sophomore Scott Aker (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) joins Bonar at the top of lineup after an excellent inaugural collegiate campaign in 2003-04. Last year Aker pressed Bonar by averaging 76.4 strokes per round and finishing with the best scores in a tournament twice during the season.
The rest of the Tiger lineup was filled out by two juniors and a freshman during the fall season. Juniors Dane Sandridge (Westfield Center, Ohio/Lodi Cloverleaf) and Kris Schmelzer (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) were joined by freshman Andrew Huffman (Dover, Ohio/Dover), and the Tigers were strong, especially at the Wittenberg Invitational. In that tournament, Wittenberg took first place against a very strong field, the program's first tournament win in more than five years.
The rest of the roster includes three freshmen - Sean Coffey (Middletown, Ohio/Lakota East), Brian Davin (New Castle, Ind./Chrysler) and Joe Knowlton (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) - and three sophomores - Jim Hively (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield), Joe Karl (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) and Brandon Sweaney (Westerville, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales). None have earned varsity letters or played in varsity tournaments previously.