University of North Texas Athletics
Men's Golf Set For C-USA Championship
4/25/2021 7:00:00 PM | Men's Golf
DENTON - The UNT men's golf team will begin competition in the Conference USA Championship on Monday at Texarkana Country Club in Arkansas with hopes of securing a trip to the NCAA Regional.
The Mean Green have a deep roster, but it's been a bit of a challenge this year for head coach Brad Stracke to find his best five-man lineup due to a lack of competition - one fall tournament and one weather cancellation in February, coupled with what was basically two back-to-back stretches on the schedule in which it was difficult to have qualifying and possibly change lineups.
Stracke has settled on a lineup for the conference tournament, which will begin Monday and run through Wednesday with stroke play before the top four finishers advance to a Match Play round on Thursday to determine the champion and who gets the automatic bid to the NCAA Regional. The Mean Green will compete with freshman Vicente Marzilio, junior Lenny Bergsson, freshman Nikhil Gopal, senior Viktor Forslund and redshirt senior Sean Wilcox. Freshman Diego Prone will be the alternate. The course will play as a Par-72 at 6,969 yards.
"It was unfortunate for us that we lost one tournament in the beginning of the semester," Bergsson said. "It has limited the other guys to get to play a tournament, as we have had two back-to-back tournaments, leaving almost no time to change the lineup."
Stracke said the tournament field is wide open for the taking as there are six teams conference teams ranked inside the top-100 nationally, led by No. 33 Charlotte and No. 38 UAB, with the Mean Green slotting fourth (No. 74) behind UTSA (No. 44). Florida Atlantic (No. 79) and Middle Tennessee (No. 95) round out the top-100 teams in the field.
"This year, our conference has a lot of teams that could compete for the title," UNT head coach Brad Stracke said. "Our team has the most depth since our 2012-13 season. I am confident in all six players we are taking to conference and not afraid to sub a player, if needed."
The Mean Green will be looking to make it to the final day for the first time since 2017, when they lost 3-2 in a semifinal match. Stracke said his team's mix of talented freshmen alongside experienced C-USA Championship vets like Bergsson and Forslund will give his team a chance to come back to Denton with some championship hardware.
"The freshmen have had a huge impact this year," Stracke said. "Time will tell, but this could be the best class I have ever had at North Texas. That said, Viktor's and Lenny's experience at Texarkana will help our chances of winning another conference title."
Bergsson echoed the sentiments of his coach.
"The freshmen have been a great contribution to the team," Bergsson said. "They have quickly adjusted to college competition and proved they can play against the best. In regards to what Viktor and I can provide to the team? We know we have a good chance of winning the conference if we bring our best golf and have confidence that we can do so. I think the depth of our lineup has never been better since I've been here. We got three really good freshmen this year, and that's what we needed."
Bergsson credits his success this year, which features three top-30 finishes and a career-best eighth-place showing at the Louisiana Classics, to his improved mental game and hopes it can net him a successful trip to Arkansas this week.
"I started focusing more on the mental side of my game, as I thought that was in my way of playing my best golf," he said. "Focusing more on what I can control and less on the final results - as well as having more fun on the course and putting less pressure on myself. That has been the biggest part of my consistency on the course."
The Mean Green will be paired Monday with UTSA and will tee off beginning at 8:40 a.m., the first hole, until Marzilio gets started at 9:12 a.m. Fans can follow the tournament live on GolfStat and check for updates on Twitter while also checking MeanGreenSports.com at the end of each day's competition for daily recaps.
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