Golf swings

2014 team experience a year of success

The 2014 Flames fall season served as a teaching tool for a young Liberty golf team. After losing five seniors from the team last year, the Flames were paced much of the year by underclassmen and newcomers to college golf. Led by its sole senior Mathieu Fenasse, Liberty continued to get better and ended up placing second at its last tournament at Kennesaw State.

Head Coach Jeff Thomas said that although his team is young, he feels as though they improved throughout the year.

“We graduated five seniors, and so we’ve got a lot of young and new players,” Thomas said. “Every tournament but one this fall, we started four freshman out of
the five.”
Thomas said he is very optimistic about the results this fall and what the future holds.

“I think (this season) is going OK,” Thomas said. “The guys are getting used to it, and they’re getting ready for the spring.”

Liberty struggled in its first two events, placing no player higher than ninth. But then, the Flames started to turn it around at the Rod Myers Invitational at Duke, where Liberty finished tied for fifth on the first day of competition. The Flames also found success at Kennesaw State to finish the year.

“(East Carolina was) ranked 18th in the nation and we finished second (at Kenesaw State),” Thomas said. “That was our biggest picker-upper of the year right there.”

Freshman Isaiah Logue was named Big South Freshman of the Week for his 4-under par performance at Kennesaw State.

Unlike other sports, the golf season is split up between fall and spring, with a break during winter, because playing conditions can be harsh during the colder months.

Liberty will now use the next few months to prepare for its spring season. The Flames hope to continue their habit of peaking during this time and winning the Big South Tournament Championship — which has been the case three out of the last four years.

“We definitely want to come back and win the Big South and go to (NCAA) regionals,” Thomas said. “We want to get ourselves ranked, and that’s what we’re looking for.”

Liberty begins its journey for a championship Feb. 2 at the Sea Best Invitational in Ponte Verde Beach, Florida. The two-day event will be hosted by Jacksonville University and will take place at TPC Sawgrass-Valley Course.

BRITT is a sports reporter.