Cavalier Men's Golfers Ranked in Two Polls

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Aug. 28, 2014

Charlottesville, Va. – The Virginia men’s golf team is ranked in the top-20 in a pair of preseason polls announced today. The Cavaliers are No. 13 in the preseason ranking by the Golf Coaches Association of America and appear No. 11 in Golfweek’s fall preview countdown.

Virginia ended the 2014 season ranked No. 17 by Golfweek and No. 16 by Golfstat. The Cavaliers return three starters from a team that won a trio of tournaments last season. Leading that group is senior Denny McCarthy, who was named a second-team All-American by both PING and Golfweek.

McCarthy posted a 70.38 stroke average as a junior and finished sixth at the NCAA Championships after being the runner-up at the ACC Championships.

Also back from the starting lineup are senior Ji Soo Park and sophomore Derek Bard. Park enters his final year at Virginia having played in 30 collegiate tournaments. Bard posted a 72.20 stroke average as a freshman and recorded three top-10 finishes.

Also back are veterans Jimmy Stanger, Nick McLaughlin, Kyle Kochevar, Alex Lloyd and Nick Tremps. That group will be joined by newcomers Austen Truslow, Danny Walker and Connor Messick. All three freshmen were ranked in the AJGA top-100 during their seniors years in high school. Truslow was listed as Golfweek’s No. 3 overall player for the class of 2014.

McCarthy reached the semifinals of the U.S Amateur Championships this summer while Bard advanced to the second round of match play at the same event. Truslow also competed in the U.S. Amateur.

Virginia opens its season Sept. 5 at the Northern Intercollegiate in Sugar Grove, Ill. McCarthy will miss the event while competing for the United States at the World Amateur Team Championships in Japan.