HERSHEY, Pa. -- This is sweet indeed. But there will be no trips to the chocolate factory for the No. 2-ranked Buccaneer men's golf team.
Barry will be making its NCAA Division II record fifth straight appearance in the national championships when it tees off Monday at Hershey Country Club. Last year the Buccaneers finished tied for fifth after advancing to the match play portion of a gruelling tournament format. Barry will play three rounds of stroke play in a 20-team field before the beginning of a two-day match-play format begins Thursday. The top eight teams after the 54-hole stroke play tournament advance to match play in a seeded bracket-style 54-hole finish over two days.
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The Buccaneers men's team won it all in 2007.
"I feel good about the team and the progress we've made through the spring on the golf course, and the mental and physical preparation," Bucs longtime coach Jimmy Stobs said. "All we're going to try to do is control our own emotions."
Three men's players are back for another run at a national title. Seniors Simon Forsslund and Marcus Segerstrom, both of Swedish descent, and junior Scott Smyers, a Lakeland, Fla., native, each have NCAA Championship experience. Junior transfer Jared Dalga, a transfer from Eastern Michigan and Grand Rapids, Mich.-raised product, and freshman Adam Svensson, a Surrey Vancouver, British Columbia prodigy, will make their first trip to nationals.
"They're very focused about what's in front of them," Stobs said. "We can't control the other teams. That's the most important thing in sports, no matter what sport it is. They know what it's all about. It's all about championships.
"I want these guys to experience it. I want these guys to experience victory in national championships."