State’s Division II Teams Chase Pfeiffer 

By CRAIG DISTL

            North Carolina should be well represented next spring when the NCAA announces bids for Division II golf regionals. Pfeiffer, Catawba, Barton, Queens and Belmont Abbey all advanced to regionals last year, and each is a candidate for postseason play in 2002-03.

            Additionally, Lenoir-Rhyne and Lees-McRae came up just short of extending their regular seasons last year and both should make a strong bid for regionals this year.

            The cream of North Carolina’s crop of Division II golf teams is Pfeiffer. The Falcons, champions of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference, spent most of last year ranked in the top five in the nation. They won the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional and advanced to the D-II National Championship, where they placed 11th.

Last year’s appearance in the national championship was Pfeiffer’s fourth in the last five years. And considering Pfeiffer has a strong nucleus of its team returning – Scottish Amateur champion Andrew McArthur (Sr.), academic All-American Will Cannon of Valdese (Jr.), and last year’s CVAC freshman of the year Jordan Stelmach – the Falcons should again be tough.

“We have five of our top seven back from a team that won an NCAA-record nine tournaments last year, won the CVAC for the third straight year and won NCAA Regionals for the second straight year, (and) Andrew Mcarthur is as good a player as there is in college golf,” said Pfeiffer coach Dave Davis. “We have a chance to again have an outstanding season, but Coker should be very good as well.”

Coker, from Hartsville, S.C., will again challenge the Falcons for supremacy in the CVAC. But two N.C. teams are in the mix. Barton College in Wilson has five starters returning from a team that placed third in both the CVAC and the Atlantic Regional. Meanwhile, Belmont Abbey in Belmont, which placed fourth in the CVAC and the Atlantic Regional, has five starters returning as well.

“Pfeiffer and Coker have proven themselves the teams to beat in our league,” said Belmont Abbey coach Doug Ehmann. “But Barton and Belmont Abbey are nipping at their heels. It could be a very interesting year, especially if some of our younger players catch fire.”

An individual to keep an eye on is Barton’s Courtney Faircloth, a junior from Wilson.

“Courtney is a smart player whose consistency has made him one of the region's best golfers his first two seasons,” said Barton coach John Hackney. “You can count on him to play within his means whenever he tees it up, and he is capable of taking it real low when he gets it going.”

The top teams from the CVAC feed into the Atlantic Regional with the top teams from the CIAA. The CIAA is expected to come down to a battle between Fayetteville State and St. Augustine's.

 Catawba College, meanwhile, is in a tough regional. The Indians play in the South Atlantic Conference, which feeds into the Southeast Regional along with the powerful Peach Belt Conference.

Last year, the Indians were second to Presbyterian in the SAC Championship and only finished eighth at the Southeast Regional despite shooting very solid scores (291-296-295).

“We should again contend in the SAC and hopefully qualify for an NCAA regional spot,” said Catawba coach Sam Gealy. “The bar is going to be raised and we hope we’re right there in the thick of things.”

Catawba will be led by seniors Derek Camp of Florida and Andrew Wymer of Virginia. The Indians will also count on Steven Harvey of Salisbury. Harvey posted three top-three finishes a year ago, including a second-place finish in the SAC Championships.

Lenoir-Rhyne just barely missed making it to regionals from the SAC. The Bears have three starters returning, plus another key player in Winston-Salem’s Clint Petree, a sophomore.

“I believe we will be much improved this year,” said Bears first-year coach Brian Bailie. “With our returning players and our newcomers, we will be very competitive in the SAC and hopefully nationally.”

Lenior-Rhyne’s women’s team is losing All-American Meghan Jolly, sort of. Jolly has graduated, but stays on board as assistant coach. Jolly and Bailie have four starters returning from a team that advanced to the NCAA South Regional and missed qualifying for the national championship by 10 strokes.

“We lost our All-American; however, I believe last year’s SAC Freshman of the Year, Carlie Gordon, and the team are poised for a breakout season,” said Bailie.

Freshmen Tracy Laughlin from Raleigh and Amanda Matthews from Pinehurst should also help the Bears.

Catawba’s women’s team continues to improve under the guidance of Gealy. The team will be led by junior Kristin Kyle of Greer, S.C., who finished second in the SAC last year and qualified for the U.S. Women’s Public Links Championship over the summer.