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MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men’s golf team put together a solid season in 2005-2006 as the Cougars finished with an overall record of 57-55 in 12 tournaments combined in both the fall and spring.

Featuring a roster of only six players that included no seniors and just two juniors, MVNU continued to improve as the season went along. The team played in four tournaments in the fall with three sixth-place finishes and then a twelfth-place finish out of 24 teams at the National Christian College Athletic Association national tournament to close out the fall.

After working on their game indoors during the winter months, the Cougars began their spring schedule with a third-place finish at the Glenville State (W.V.) College Invitational. Following the conclusion of that tournament, the team headed to Sumter, South Carolina for a week of practice rounds to make final preparations for the spring season.

After finishing seventh out of 15 teams at the Southeastern Kentucky Intercollegiate Invitational, MVNU posted a third-place finish at the Urbana University Invitational and a second-place finish at the Walsh University Invitational. Following back-to-back sixth-place finishes at the Cougars’ own invitational and at the Cedarville University Invitational, MVNU finished fourth at the Malone College Invitational to close out the regular season with a season-low team total of 595.

The Cougars capped off their season with a sixth-place finish out of 14 teams at the American Mideast Conference/NAIA Region IX Tournament as MVNU finished with a three-round total of 935.

"As a young team, we played pretty well early in the fall and late in the spring,” said MVNU head coach Mark Stiverson, who wrapped up his first season as a collegiate head coach. "All the guys worked hard during the season. In the spring, we were having two tournaments a week for a period of three weeks or so. That’s good if your game is on, but it can be tormenting if you’re not playing the way you should.”

Individually, junior Derek Clark led the Cougars with a 76.4 average for the year. Over three of the final four tournaments, he was right around par every round. He was named to three All-Tournament Teams during the year and earned a spot on the American Mideast Conference Team by shooting a 221 at the AMC/NAIA Region IX Tournament to finish third overall. He also set a school-record with a three-under-par 141 to earn medalist honors at the MVNU Invitational.

Sophomore Anthony Savage averaged a 78.0 for the year in his first season with the Cougars after transferring in. He was named to the Glenville State College Invitational All-Tournament Team. Sophomore Tim Hepner (79.9), junior Jeremy Schlabach (81.5), freshman Jared Schlabach (82.2), and sophomore Philip Beard (83.0) rounded out the team.

"Derek was very impressive down the stretch with all the low scores that he posted,” said Stiverson. "Anthony and Tim have been working hard on their game and it should be a real treat to see them light it up after a summer of dedicated practice. Jeremy always seemed to come in with a decent score when it was needed, and Jared will continue to improve as he gets more experience under his belt.”

"With the added experience of the returning players and the addition of some new faces, the team should be even more competitive next year,” Stiverson continued. "We could be very good next year. We definitely have the talent, but it comes down to a matter of execution.”