Men's Golf | 02.08.2019

VERMILLION, S.D. – The South Dakota men's golf team opens the spring portion of its 2018-19 season Sunday-Tuesday at the UNC Greensboro Martin Downs Collegiate taking place in Palm City, Florida.
 
The Coyotes are the preseason favorites in the Summit League after ending the fall leading the league in stroke average with 291.7 strokes per round, nearly three strokes better than second place Oral Roberts. South Dakota returns all five players from last year's squad that finished third at the championship, including reigning Player of the Year Tommy Vining.
 
All five, along long with freshman Ben Hicks, will be at the event in Florida to tee of the spring schedule after a successful fall season.
 
Matt Tolan, a junior, put together the top fall for the Coyotes with a stroke average of 73 shots per round. Jacob Michel and Tate Arends, both sophomores, were just behind at 73.5 and 73.6 strokes per round, respectively.
 
Scott Fudenberg, a junior, tallied 74.3 strokes per round while Hicks was at 74.4 strokes. Vining closed the fall at 75 shots per round but owns the Coyotes' career scoring average record at 73.5 shots per round over his career with South Dakota.
 
South Dakota last competed Oct. 25-27 at the Visit Stockton Invitational hosted by Pacific before embarking on the winter break.
 
"November is a light month, we work out and still get in and hit but we really get going the first week of January," head coach John Vining said. "It is four days a week of workouts and five days of practice in the DakotaDome.
 
"The DakotaDome is great. We can get full wedge work in. I try to make practice interesting, keep it competitive. We really harp on the fundamentals. Historically, we come out ready to play in the spring in our first event."
 
As the Coyotes look to manage their first tournament, the team isn't necessarily focused on number results, but taking care of what they are able to control.
 
"It's a good field for our guys," John Vining added. "I expect them to give their all, that's the cliché, but we want to have good strategy, have a good attitude, and we want to manage ourselves around the golf course. If we can do that, we won't leave any shots behind and that is the goal at this point of the season."
 
The Martin Downs Collegiate is new to the Coyotes' schedule this year, taking place on the Osprey Course of the Martin Downs Golf Club. Thirteen teams will attend, including Summit League foe Purdue Fort Wayne. The course is set to play 6,802 yards and to a par 72.
 
The format is 18 holes per day, over three days, something that senior Tommy Vining is excited about.
 
"The 18 holes a day gives the team the opportunity to play golf in the morning, and then just enjoy the afternoons together," Tommy Vining said. "Whether that is working on our game or swimming, whatever it may be, we don't get a lot of tournaments like this."
 
South Dakota has five events before the Summit League Championship taking place April 28-30 in Newton, Kansas.