The San Jose State men’s golf team played up to par and placed third out of 16 schools in its first tournament of the season, Sept. 15-17.
Before the tournament, head coach John Kennaday said the team is gelling well together.
“The new guys have been warmly accepted and are working hard and are trying to earn the respect and admiration of their teammates,” Kennaday said.
The Golfweek Conference Challenge in Iowa has served as the opening tournament for the Spartans in each of the last three seasons, with this year’s finish being the highest of the three.
Kevin Velo and Ben Campbell, seniors on last year’s team, are both student assistant coaches this season.
Prior to the tournament, sophomore Parker Sisk said he’s learned a lot from Velo and Campbell, as well as junior Bryce Wortman and senior team captain Nate Jetter.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot from [those four] when it comes to practice habits and daily routine,” Sisk said.
Sisk finished the tournament tied for 21st, his best finish as a Spartan.
Kennaday was pleased with how his team performed as a whole.
“I think we learned a lot this week, a remarkable bit about who and what we are,” Kennaday said. “For this early in the season that’s a godsend.”
SJSU got off to a slow start and was tied for 11th after the first round of the three-round tournament.
Jetter said that the team came together after the first round and regrouped.
“We had a long meeting that night, talking about how our expectations might have been a little out of hand,” Jetter said. “I think that some of the younger guys, and some of our veterans, including myself, we recentered and went out the next day with a sense of ‘We can do this.’ ”
The meeting proved fruitful as the Spartans held a share of fifth place after the second round, eventually climbing to a third place finish.
All together, SJSU shot an 869, one shot shy of Campbell University’s 868 and 16 shots behind Ball State’s tournament-winning 853.
In the team format, five golfers per college compete, with only the top four scores of each round counting toward the final tally.
Freshman Caleb Shetler finished highest for the Spartans, placing sixth in the 86-player field.
Wortman and Jetter finished 13th and 44th, respectively, while senior Sean Yu finished 50th.
The Spartans also had two golfers play as individuals whose scores did not count toward the team’s final score.
Freshman Carl Corpus competed individually and finished 10th overall in the field.
“[Corpus] played brilliantly,” coach Kennaday said. “He certainly has earned the respect of his teammates. Not just by what he shot, but by how he played.”
Corpus, along with Shetler, Wortman and Sisk each had at least two rounds of par-or-better play on the par-72 course.
While Kennaday would have, of course, preferred to win, his eyes are set on seeing the team constantly improve with each upcoming tournament.
“I’m looking to get better,” Kennaday said. “We could win and not get better and it would be a waste of time.”
Going forward, Jetter said that he likes the direction the team is going in.
“We have all the talent that we need to compete with anyone in the nation,” Jetter said. “Being able to bounce back from being a little behind and finishing in third is huge for confidence.”
SJSU’s next tournament is the Nick Watney Fresno Invitational starting Monday.
