University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Golfers Set To Compete In AAC Championship
4/18/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
STORRS, Conn. --- Riding the wave of three straight Top Five finishes, the UConn men's golf team will head into the American Athletic Conference Championship confident and well-prepared.
"I'm looking forward to some good, solid work this week and I absolutely think we are trending the right way," said 11-year UConn coach Dave Pezzino. "The league is full of talented teams and it's something we're very proud to be a part of. But because the field is really deep, you have to be ready to go."
The Huskies will join conference rivals UCF, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, USF, SMU, Temple and Wichita State on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (April 22-24) at the Innisbrook Golf & Spa Resort, Copperhead Course, at Palm Harbor, Fla. The AAC Championship consists of three rounds of stroke play.
"USF is ranked 20th in the country, UCF is 56th and Houston is 57th," Pezzino said. "We've got a lot of great teams in our league. But we've played a tough enough schedule that our guys aren't going to face anything they haven't already seen."
Then there is the difficulty of the site of the tournament.
"Copperhead is about as strong as you can get," Pezzino explained. "It's a very demanding golf course, it is a ball-striker's golf course. It is a golf course where you need a lot of patience and I think our group has really matured to the level where they can work their way around the course and make it a very productive three rounds."
"Our preparation for Innisbrook is going to be highly detailed and extensive," Pezzino added. "We'll do a lot of work with course management. We'll try to set up game plans for the guys individually for their strengths to manage Copperhead."
Leading the UConn into the conference tournament are junior co-captains Jimmy Hervol (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Nabeel Khan (Westerville, Ohio).
Hervol is the Huskies' top scorer, averaging 71.6 per round for 32 rounds. He has been the top UConn finisher in five events this year, notching four Top 10 and seven Top 20 finishes, including medalist honors at the FAU Spring Championship. Hervol is the UConn leader in rounds of par or better with 18.
Khan is averaging 73.6 per round, with 12 rounds of par or better. He has two Top 10 finishes, with a season-best tie for eighth at the Lehigh Valley Collegiate.
Also included in UConn's five-player team will be redshirt sophomore Drake Hull (Rutland, Vt.), the team's second-leading scorer at 72.7, with 14 rounds of par or better, two Top 10 and four Top 20 finishes. His best tourney was a tie for fifth in last weekend's Clemson Invitational.
Junior Nick Harrington (Chaplin, Conn.) is averaging 73.0, with a low round of 66 among 12 rounds of par or better, with four finishes in the Top 20, including a season-best tie for 11th in the Clemson Invitational.
Rounding out the UConn team is sophomore Tim Umphrey (Northborough, Mass.), who has an individual victory in the Lehigh Valley Collegiate to his credit this season. Umphrey is averaging 73.4 per round, with six rounds of par or better, and two Top 10 finishes.
"I think our guys' games are ready for that competition, that type of golf course," Pezzino said. "Obviously, it is one of the toughest events we play, but we play a demanding schedule all year to be ready to face a demanding conference championship field on a tough course."
Players Mentioned
