With five of the team’s top six players returning from last year and coming off a 27-14 record in the fall that included a 10th-place finish at the National Christian College Athletic Association national tournament, head coach Mark Stiverson and the Cougars are excited about the upcoming season.

“I think our success as a team this spring will depend entirely on utilizing our strengths,” said Stiverson, who enters his third season at MVNU with a 149-116 overall record in two full seasons and this year’s fall schedule. “It may sound obvious and it should be, but sometimes we think and try to play as someone we are not. We need to do a good job of evaluating our rounds, evaluating the best chance of making each shot, and evaluate the outcomes of both the aggressive and conservative shot. Then, we have to accept it and accept the outcome and move on.”

Leading the Cougars in the 2008 spring season will be a trio of seniors: Preston Knight, Tim Hepner, and Anthony Savage. Knight led the team with a 76.6 average last spring, while Hepner was right behind him at 76.9 as he earned a spot on the American Mideast Conference Team. Savage rounded out the talented trio with a 77.4 average.

“For the three seniors on this year’s team, the saying that ‘there is no tomorrow’ is very appropriate,” said Stiverson. “Preston, Tim, and Anthony have one last chance to make their mark in collegiate golf as a player. It couldn’t happen at a better time as these seniors, as well as the rest of the team, are hungry and anxious about what this spring season should be.”

Juniors Tyler Tinch (78.9) and Jared Schlabach (81.6) round out a top five that has plenty of collegiate golf experience, while junior Matt Kerns returns for his second season on the team. Freshmen Jay Ruffner, Cory Palmer, and Alex Carroll add depth to the team and will push the older players for a spot in the top five.

“We have very talented players on the team,” said Stiverson. “Tyler and Jared were both regulars on the tournament team in the fall. However, no one can get real comfortable in that top five as several other guys have been working really hard in the off-season to push their games to a higher level.”

Following the Union Invitational, MVNU will travel to Brooksville, Florida, for a week of practice rounds at the World Woods Golf Center. Then, the Cougars will return north to take part in the Southeastern Kentucky Intercollegiate Invitational hosted by the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) on March 27-28.

“Our first tournament will be challenging as we will play before spring break,” said Stiverson. “Fortunately, it will be in Kentucky where the white stuff has melted. Unfortunately for us, we will not have had any real playing time in the Ohio area. To mitigate this, the guys have been hitting the range several days a week. That is not the same as playing, but it does help in many ways. Several of the guys have been taking lessons and have worked with a trainer over the winter.”

From there, MVNU will take part in four more tournaments in the regular season: the Cedarville University Invitational (March 31-April 1), the Urbana University Invitational (April 4-5), the Cougars’ own MVNU Invitational (April 11-12), and the Malone College Invitational (April 18-19).

At that point, the Cougars will turn their attention to the postseason by participating in the AMC/NAIA Region IX Tournament on April 24-25 at Apple Valley Golf Course. The winner of that tournament will receive an automatic berth into the NAIA National Tournament to be held at Indiana National Golf Club in Plymouth, Indiana, on May 13-16.

“Each of the players have set personal and team goals for the spring,” concluded Stiverson. “I look forward to congratulating them as they achieve their goals.”