Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008

STATE COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

Campbellsville men's golfers mature, find NAIA success

By Rick Bailey

HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

Jeff Sullivan

In a one-stroke loss to Berry College last fall, the men's golf team at Campbellsville started to become winners.

"That set the tone," said Coach P.J. Throckmorton, who will retire after the Tigers compete in the NAIA Tournament next week. "We said, 'We can play with these guys.' We gained a lot of enthusiasm, worked in the weight room and with conditioning and practiced harder."

The Tigers also competed among themselves for match time. "Anytime they went out, they knew they'd better play their best," Throckmorton said.

Campbellsville, 13th nationally, won the Mid-South Conference and Region XI tournaments and will play in the NAIA Tournament May 13-19 in Plymouth, Ind.

The "starting five" is Jeff Sullivan, Scott Webb, Jeff Gumm, Brandon Young and Casey Young. Sullivan was the Mid-South and Region XI Golfer of the Year, and Throckmorton, 77, was the MSC's top coach.

"I recruited these kids," said Throckmorton, whose first season was 2002-03. "Campbellsville had seven coaches in five years. We had nine on that first team, and I could beat eight of them."

Not anymore. Sullivan, for instance, went to nationals a year ago, competing as an individual.

"That will be an advantage for us," Throckmorton said. "I feel these guys still haven't reached their potential."

Throckmorton, long a fixture in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at the University of Kentucky and around the state, said he felt God's call to take the Campbellsville job. Now he is waiting for a new direction.

Blue Raiders dominate

Winning the NAIA Region XI women's golf tournament wasn't a big surprise to Lindsey Wilson Coach Chris Wells.

The Lady Blue Raiders thoroughly dominated the seven-team competition by 32 strokes for the two-day event.

Lindsey Wilson had seven of the first nine finishers, starting with medalist Jessica Smith. She edged teammate Beth Cooper by three shots.

Lindsey Wilson's Aline Decker and Chelsey Key shared third place. Krista Burton tied for fifth with Georgetown's Natalie Brown and Campbellsville's Cheris Evans.

The Raiders' Jessica Robertson was eighth and Cheslee Elkins was ninth. Robertson was Mid-South Golfer of the Year.

"We returned all five players from the national runner-up team, and we added a couple of newcomers," Wells said, "We were ranked in the top five to seven all season and have been the top team in the region."

Lindsey Wilson will compete in the NAIA Tournament May 20-23 in San Diego.

The Lady Raiders cut a 12-shot deficit to six entering the back nine in last year's final round against Oklahoma City.

"We had a couple of bad holes on the back nine," Wells said. "On a par-3, they were 2 under and we were about plus 8."

In the nationals, Lindsey Wilson has improved from 17th to 11th to second in Wells' first three years.

• The Lindsey Wilson men and women, Union's two teams and the Georgetown women will play in the NAIA Tennis Tournament next week in Mobile, Ala.

EKU men's golf in NCAAs

The men's golf team at Eastern Kentucky will compete in the NCAA Championships after winning the Ohio Valley Conference title. The Central Regional will be May 15-17 at Ohio State. The Colonels are seeded No. 22 in the 27-team regional. Louisville is seeded 10th.

Eastern won its 11th OVC title last month, defeating runner-up Murray State by 19 shots.

Phil Hendrickson was the OVC Player of the Year. He has the lowest stroke average in the league and six top-10 finishes. Pat Stephens was the top coach. He also led Eastern to the NCAA Tournament in 2006.

The top 10 teams from three 54-hole regionals advance to the championship rounds in West Lafayette, Ind., May 28-31.

Korir, Davis honored

Eastern's Jacob Korir was named OVC Male Track Athlete of the Year, and teammate Shannon Davis was Male Freshman of the Year.

Korir, a senior All-American from Kenya, is first in the United States in the 5,000 meters and second in the 10,000 meters.

Davis, a wide receiver in football, transferred from Tulane for the spring semester and became one of the OVC's top sprinters.

Gjevre top pitcher

Morehead State's Alex Gjevre was selected OVC Pitcher of the Year for softball. Gjevre, a sophomore, is on pace to set a league record with a 0.77 ERA. She leads the OVC by holding opponents to a .184 batting average. She is in the top five in victories, strikeouts, complete games and shutouts. She also has a no-hitter.

Gjevre was 17-5 entering the OVC Tournament Thursday in Jacksonville, Ala.