University of North Texas Athletics
Depth Breeds Confidence Entering Spring Season
2/10/2021 12:00:00 PM | Men's Golf
DENTON - Just before the 2019-20 season was suddenly halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic 11 months ago, the Mean Green men's golf team was putting together one its best showings of the season at the Wyoming Desert Collegiate.
Instead of using it as positive momentum to springboard toward the Conference USA Championship tournament, it's now simply a memory.
Save one fall tournament, the UNT-hosted Maridoe Collegiate Invitational in October, the Mean Green haven't played a tournament since that one in late February 2020 in California, and now they're set to begin the spring schedule on Sunday at the All-American Intercollegiate in Houston. While the team has the same basic makeup as this time last year, there are a few new additions who are giving head coach Brad Stracke the opinion that this could be the deepest team he's had in a good while.
"Our depth makes qualifying and practice a lot more competitive this year," Stracke said. "This could be the hardest working team I have ever coached. I'm looking forward to our first tournament."
That new depth has been on display in the team's limited competition this year. In October at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational, the team was led by two freshmen - Vicente Marzilio and Diego Prone. In an individual one-day, 36-hole tournament on Monday with a field of more than 50 players from various programs, Marzilio again led the way and tied for fifth.
"The team is definitely built differently this year," senior Viktor Forslund said. "We had Vicente and Diego coming in last year (in the fall) and they have really contributed to the depth of this team. They led the team last fall in our only tournament, which was their first collegiate tournament and that shows that they came here to play. Additionally, this spring, we got a really talented freshman in Nikhil (Gopal), along with (sophomore) Hiroki (Miya), who returned after missing the fall. They also look really good going into the spring season."
After a 19-20 season that saw Forslund almost exclusively lead the team at tournaments, the change has been a welcomed sight, even for Forslund, who has been the team's scoring leader since his sophomore season.
"Having such great depth on our team is definitely a good thing," Forslund said. "Anyone can make the lineup for any tournament, so you really have to grind to be able to keep up with everyone. We push each other every day to become better, which creates a great team environment."
Forslund also said there is a good mix of classifications on the team, and even though there are several underclassmen who got less experience this past fall than in a typical fall season, they are just as capable on the course as seniors such as himself or Tennessee transfer Sean Wilcox.
"We have some older guys like me, (junior) Lenny (Bergsson) and Sean that have lots of experience in college golf," Forslund said. "As the season plays out, we will share any experience that we might have to help the younger guys. However, even though it may say freshman or sophomore next to their names on the roster, these guys are already playing in a very mature way."
Spring schedule
2/14-2/16 - All-American Intercollegiate, Houston
3/7-3/9 - Trinity Forest Invitational, Dallas
3/15-3/16 - Louisiana Classics, Lafayette, La.
4/5-4/6 - Bayou City Collegiate Classic, Pearland, Texas
4/9-4/11 - Aggie Invitational, Bryan, Texas
4/26-4/29 - Conference USA Championship, Texarkana, Texas
Instead of using it as positive momentum to springboard toward the Conference USA Championship tournament, it's now simply a memory.
Save one fall tournament, the UNT-hosted Maridoe Collegiate Invitational in October, the Mean Green haven't played a tournament since that one in late February 2020 in California, and now they're set to begin the spring schedule on Sunday at the All-American Intercollegiate in Houston. While the team has the same basic makeup as this time last year, there are a few new additions who are giving head coach Brad Stracke the opinion that this could be the deepest team he's had in a good while.
"Our depth makes qualifying and practice a lot more competitive this year," Stracke said. "This could be the hardest working team I have ever coached. I'm looking forward to our first tournament."
That new depth has been on display in the team's limited competition this year. In October at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational, the team was led by two freshmen - Vicente Marzilio and Diego Prone. In an individual one-day, 36-hole tournament on Monday with a field of more than 50 players from various programs, Marzilio again led the way and tied for fifth.
"The team is definitely built differently this year," senior Viktor Forslund said. "We had Vicente and Diego coming in last year (in the fall) and they have really contributed to the depth of this team. They led the team last fall in our only tournament, which was their first collegiate tournament and that shows that they came here to play. Additionally, this spring, we got a really talented freshman in Nikhil (Gopal), along with (sophomore) Hiroki (Miya), who returned after missing the fall. They also look really good going into the spring season."
After a 19-20 season that saw Forslund almost exclusively lead the team at tournaments, the change has been a welcomed sight, even for Forslund, who has been the team's scoring leader since his sophomore season.
"Having such great depth on our team is definitely a good thing," Forslund said. "Anyone can make the lineup for any tournament, so you really have to grind to be able to keep up with everyone. We push each other every day to become better, which creates a great team environment."
Forslund also said there is a good mix of classifications on the team, and even though there are several underclassmen who got less experience this past fall than in a typical fall season, they are just as capable on the course as seniors such as himself or Tennessee transfer Sean Wilcox.
"We have some older guys like me, (junior) Lenny (Bergsson) and Sean that have lots of experience in college golf," Forslund said. "As the season plays out, we will share any experience that we might have to help the younger guys. However, even though it may say freshman or sophomore next to their names on the roster, these guys are already playing in a very mature way."
Spring schedule
2/14-2/16 - All-American Intercollegiate, Houston
3/7-3/9 - Trinity Forest Invitational, Dallas
3/15-3/16 - Louisiana Classics, Lafayette, La.
4/5-4/6 - Bayou City Collegiate Classic, Pearland, Texas
4/9-4/11 - Aggie Invitational, Bryan, Texas
4/26-4/29 - Conference USA Championship, Texarkana, Texas
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
Friday, November 04