Junior Stefan Wiedergruen is ranked third in the country in the latest Sagarin/Golfweek rankings. |
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CHARLOTTE GOLF #1 IN NATION
Sept. 25, 2007
Charlotte, N.C. - For the first time in school history, the Charlotte 49ers boast the number one team in the country.
The Charlotte 49ers golf team, hot off of a pair of victories in their first two events of the 2007-08 season, currently stand atop the national rankings as the number one team in the land. In the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, released Sept. 25, Charlotte is rated number one -- marking the first time that a 49ers sports program has been ranked number one in the nation.
"I am simply ecstatic for our players, their families, our athletic department, our university and for every 49er that carried a golf bag in our program. Every one of them should take great pride in this accomplishment," said head coach Jamie Green, the two-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year. "They've earned spots in some of college golf's strongest tournaments because of their previous success. Getting into those tournaments is vital to being ranked high in the Sagarin rankings. To get into those tournaments you have to have success and you can't succeed and have confidence unless you work your tail off and have the talent to back up that hard work.
"The guys we have on this team more than anything do not get complacent. After they win, and they come back to campus with a trophy in hand, and they are excited, no question about it, but they get right back in the weight room, get caught up in class and then get off to the course or range. They are never satisfied and they do everything they can to get better, all the time. I take as much pride in their work ethic as I do in the numbers and scores at the end of the day."
The Golfweek/Sagarin rankings are computerized rankings that heavily weigh results on the course and strength of schedule. The system is based on a mathematical formula that uses a team's won-lost-tied record against other teams when they play on the same course on the same day and the stroke differential between those teams, then links all teams to one another based on common opponents.
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The 49ers, who placed third at the NCAA National Championships last year, have won both of their tournaments this year. This past weekend's PING/Golfweek Preview included six top 10 teams and 13 top 25 teams. The 49ers won that event by four strokes over then-seventh-ranked Oklahoma State and defeated Alabama, Sagarin/Golfweek's previous #1 team, by 14 strokes. The 49ers also won the season-opening Scenic City Invitational by six strokes. The PING/Golfweek Preview was played at the site of the upcoming 2008 NCAA Championships, while the Scenic City Invitational was played at the site of the upcoming 2008 NCAA East Regional.
"Jamie Green has done one of the finest jobs in college golf over the past three seasons to get his squad to a No. 1 ranking," said college golf expert Lance Ringler, host of Off Campus with Lance Ringler on GolfweekTV.com. "This 49er team is legit with much experience returning from last year's third-place team at the national championship."
"I think it is incredible," said senior Andrew DiBitetto, who has helped the 49ers win 13 tournament titles in his career. "We have done some magnificent things in a very short period of time, but we can't stop here and get comfortable. We need to keep doing the things we have done to continue to be successful. Although this is great, we can't reach our ultimate goal until May and June. This isn't the end of it. If anything this is just the beginning."
The 49ers have five of their top seven players returning from last year's team, including a trio of seniors: Andrew DiBitetto, Jonas Enander Hedin and Trevor Murphy. In addition the 49ers boast a pair of top underclassmen in junior Stefan Wiedergruen and sophomore Corey Nagy.
Wiedergruen was just named Golfweek National Player of the Week after winning the individual title at the PING/Golfweek Preview while Nagy, a 2007 NCAA Freshman all-America, was the individual medalist at the Scenic City Invitational. Enander Hedin led the 49ers in stroke average last year while DiBitetto was the Niners' top finisher at the NCAA Championships, finishing ninth to earn honorable mention all-America honors. Murphy reached the round of 32 at the 2007 US Amateur after placing fourth in qualifying at the event. He also won both the Vermont Open and Vermont Amatuer this past summer.
According to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Individual Rankings, Charlotte has two players in the nation's top 10 and three in the top 50. Stefan Wiedergruen, who won the PING/GolfWeek Preview and tied for second at the Scenic City Invitational is ranked third in the country. Jonas Enander Hedin, who placed tied for second at the PING/Golfweek Preview and tied for sixth at the Scenic City Invitational is seventh while Nagy, who won the Scenic City Invitational and placed 41st at the PING/Golfweek Preview is ranked 45th.
Charlotte, which rose as high 14 in the final 2006-07 Golfstat national rankings, began the 2007-08 season ranked 10th in the NIKE/GolfWorld Coaches poll. They moved up to #9 in the coaches poll after the season-opening win, which also landed the 49ers at #5 in the Golfweek rankings. Golfstat and GolfWorld have not released rankings following this past weekend's event.
"As excited as our players were to know that the GolfWorld Coaches poll picked them as a top 10 team in the preseason ranking, it's probably more rewarding for them to know that their early season play has earned them the number one spot in the country," Green noted.
The number one ranking for the 49ers golf team is the highest for any program in Charlotte 49ers history. The 49ers men's soccer team was ranked #2 in the country in the ISAA Coaches Poll, Oct. 19, 1992.
Charlotte's third-place showing at the 2007 NCAA Championships was also a program-best finish, matching the 1996 men's soccer team which reached the National Semifinals. The 1977 men's basketball team placed fourth at the Final Four.
The 49ers next competition will be Oct. 15-16 at The Prestige in La Quinta, Ca. The best chance for fans to catch a glimpse of the 49ers this fall is at the Callaway National Match Play tournament in Greensboro, Ga., Oct. 28-30.
