9.7.2011

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University will open its 2011-12 men's golf campaign at the Springhill Suites Intercollegiate hosted by Francis Marion University. The 54-hole tournament will be played on Monday and Tuesday, September 12-13, at the Country Club of South Carolina in Florence, South Carolina. Fifteenth-year head coach Kevin Fillman returns six lettermen and has added two freshmen to the program.

A Look At Longwood
The Lancers return four seniors in Bobby Fox|South Riding (Xavier, Conn.), Austin Gray|Midlothian (Monacan), Kenny Leech|Boca Raton, Fla. (Grandview Prep), and Ross Sumner|Callao (Northumberland), along with two sophomores in Kyle Bodin|Austin, Texas (McNeil) and Dylan Jensen|Martinsville (Carlisle School). Newcomers are freshmen Blake Carter|Bassett (Bassett) and Jason Schumacher|Glen Allen (Deep Run). Carter is the younger brother of Longwood fifth-year senior Kameron Carter, a member of the women's golf team.

Head Coach Kevin Fillman
“We're pretty excited to get started. We've had several guys play some very solid qualifying rounds. Both Kenny and Dylan were really good over the course of all seven rounds, while Austin and Ross came on strongly over the four played this past weekend. Although they were a little up and down, both Blake and Jason showed they're really going to help us as well. Bobby has a lot of experience, so we'll work to get him back to where he'll contribute, and Kyle just needs to get back to 100% healthy. We appear to have a lot of depth, and we expect to be a good team. We'll have a better idea of where we are in about 10 days. I'm ready to go see what happens."

A Look At 2011 Preseason Qualifying
Longwood played seven rounds during preseason qualifying, including six rounds at The Manor Golf Club and one round at the Longwood Golf Club. The averages were as follows: Leech, 71.71 (277 over final four rounds-69.25), Jensen, 72.43 (280-70.00), Sumner, 73.71 (281-70.25), Schumacher, 74.43, Gray, 74.86 (284-71.00), Carter, 75.14, Fox, 78.71, and Bodin, 78.50 (completed six rounds for his first golf since last February following two wrist surgeries).

Summer Successes
Leech tied for seventh at the Oglethorpe Invitational (68-71-73—212). He was an alternate at the U.S. Amateur Qualifier (74-69--143) as well. Sumner tied for 32nd at the SunTrust State Open of Virginia (73-77-73-71—294). He, along with Gray, Carter, and Schumacher each qualified for the Virginia Amateur. Gray also finished ninth at the USGA Club Championship (71-72--143). Carter finished as a semifinalist at the 21st Virginia State Golf Association (VSGA) Junior Match Play Championship after qualifying for match play with his rounds of 72-71--143. Schumacher tied for fifth at the Virginia Junior (71-71-76--218), while tied for sixth at the USGA Club Championship (71-71--142). Jensen competed at the Eastern Amateur (73-68-71-73--285), and Fox placed ninth at the Oahu Invitational (72-78-71--221).

A Look Back At 2010-11
Longwood competed in 11 events during 2010-11, earning one tournament win and two third-place finishes among 10 top-10 team efforts overall. The Lancers won the Manor Intercollegiate (875) for the second time in three years along with third-place efforts at the Cornell Invitational (883) and the Richmond Intercollegiate (864) while posting a 298.00 team scoring average over 31 rounds. Individually among returning golfers, Gray averaged 75.16 while playing all 31 rounds, followed by Sumner (75.63, 30), Leech (76.18, 28), Bodin (75.33, 12), Jensen (77.50, 10), and Fox (78.06, 18).

Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Academic Awards
Longwood was a recipient of the 2011 All-Academic Team Award by the GCAA. The Lancers were one of 59 Division I teams recognized for their team grade point average (GPA) above 3.0 this past academic year, posting an impressive 3.34 GPA. DePaul University (3.66) took the top GCAA Division I honor, while only five other DI programs attained a 3.5 or better team GPA for the past year. Longwood is one of just 20 Division I programs to garner this academic distinction for all three years of the award. Individually, Gray and recent graduate Michael Young were named Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholars for NCAA Division I by the GCAA. Gray and Young were among only 138 Division I golfers nationwide to achieve this prestigious academic honor for 2010-11.

Up Next
Longwood will participate in the Bucknell Invitational, a 54-hole tournament at the Bucknell Golf Club on September 16-17 in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.