University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Play FAU in Spring Opener
2/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Florida Atlantic University Match: The Gopher Men's golf team will open up the spring portion of its golf schedule by battling Florida Atlantic University in an 18-hole match on Feb. 6 at Fountains Country Club in Lake Worth, Florida.The match will be played at FCC's North Course, a 6,876 yard par 71 layout.
It has been just over three months since the Gophers last took to the links. Minnesota concluded the fall schedule by tying for 13th place at the Bridgestone Championships in Greensboro, N.C. Ben Pisani paced the Gophers in the fall with a 70.14 stroke average. FAU played in three fall events, finishing in the top two in all three. The performance came in the Bethune-Cookman Tournament where they defeated nine other teams for the Championship. Senior Ben Silverman leads the team with a 71.5 stroke average.
The Lineup: Minnesota's lineup on Saturday will consist of six players with the lowest four scores counting for the team score. Making the trip for the Gophers are seniors Ben Pisani and Thomas Campbell, junior Donald Constable, sophomore Derek Chang and freshmen Robert Bell and Erik Van Rooyen. Constable will be making his Gopher debut after transferring from the University of Texas.
Ben Pisani - A player to watch: Golfweek Magazine announced this fall that Gopher senior Ben Pisani has been listed as their "Player to Watch" for the 2009-10 golf season. Pisani is currently ranked 20th in the most recent Golfweek/Sagarin College individual rankings and 12th by Golfstat's rankings. He finished last season as the 141st ranked player in the nation. This season, Pisani has paced the Gophers with a 70.14 stroke average after five tournaments and has posted five straight top-10 finishes, including a runner-up finish at the 2009 Gopher Invitational.
If his season average holds up, Pisani will hold the program's finest season, according to the stats. Former Gopher All-American and NCAA Champion James McLean holds the top two spots in single season stroke average after finishing with averages of 70.89 and 71.39 in 1999 and 1998, respectively.
Coming Home: Minnesota native Donald Constable, the 2005 and 2006 Minnesota High School State champion at Minnetonka High School, will join the team after two-plus seasons at the University of Texas. Constable will be eligible to compete during the 2010 spring season. A four-year letter winner at Minnetonka High School, Constable was a four-time All-Classic Lake Conference selection. He played two full years for the Longhorns before his recent transfer back to his home state of Minnesota.
While at Texas, Constable held a scoring average of 74.54 in 55 rounds (18 tournaments). He played in four tournaments his freshman season and opened his collegiate career with a tie for 53rd place at the PING Arizona Intercollegiate. Constable also finished in a tie for 43rd at the Fresno State Lexus Classic with a 2-over 218. Constable posted a stroke average of 74.03 in 12 tournaments as a sophomore, scored nine under-par rounds and made two top-20 finishes. Constable also made an appearance in the NCAA Championships, finishing in a tie for 104th. He posted a 72-hole score of 300 in the Big 12 Championships, which was good enough for a tie for 25th.
Up Next: The Gophers will see what the rest of the Big Ten Conference has to offer as they will take part in the second annual Big Ten Match Play in Miami, Fla. on Feb. 12-13.
Players Mentioned
