MVNU played through a challenging season last year as they battled injuries and bad weather on the way to posting a 34-54-1 overall record. However, despite the fact that three seniors graduated from that team and one other returning player (junior Alex Carroll) is out while rehabbing from knee surgery, coach Mark Stiverson is very optimistic as he prepares to enter his fifth season at his alma mater.

"This is the first year in several years that we will not have any seniors,” said Stiverson. "Even with three or four tournament spots open, our preseason qualifiers the last week of August provided several surprises. Many of the returning players have worked very hard on their games, especially (junior) Jay (Ruffner) (left). We have had a couple of surprise additions, too, with one transfer (sophomore Chris O’Hara) and another player (sophomore Jon Weaver) who was part of our basketball program but decided to play golf instead. They are both good additions. All the hours that were spent recruiting also look to be paying off as we have four freshmen who have jumped off to a great start in the qualifiers and will have an immediate impact on the team.”

Ruffner earned the No. 1 spot after a great qualifier and also posting the best average of the healthy returning players at 80.4. Freshmen Matt Crouch, Brad Meinert, and Preston Robinette have each earned a in the season’s first tournament, while O’Hara also has qualified to play in the first event.

"These guys have all played well, but they cannot coast as the competition both within the team as well as from other teams will be vying to overtake them,” said Stiverson. "Doing well at our first tournament is important because it will set the pace for what we must do to continue the success. This is a tough and demanding course, but I believe that we are ready to face the challenges that it offers.”

Carroll (80.0) and fellow juniors Cory Palmer (84.8) and Jim Nichols along with sophomores Mitch Justice (81.7), Adam Nichols (91.2), and Weaver and freshman Richie Bechtol round out the roster for MVNU.

"This is probably the first year we have had a lot of depth throughout the team,” said Stiverson. "It is a good position to be in so that everyone will continue to work hard to improve their game. I look forward to seeing if we can take our practice and qualifying scores to the tournaments. If we can, wow….it will be fun!”

In addition to the Ohio Dominican/Otterbein Invitational, the Cougars will take part in the Malone University Invitational on September 18-19 and the 36-hole Cedarville University Invitational on October 5. The team will also be looking to qualify for the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament in Panama City Beach, Florida, on October 12-13.

"With golf having basically two seasons (fall and spring), all tournaments are important and both seasons have their challenges,” said Stiverson. "The fall schedule presents at least two challenges beyond just playing well and winning. With the NCCAA’s played in October, we must post good scores in our fall tournaments in order to be invited to go since our finish last year was not good enough to automatically qualify. The other important aspect of the fall is that it is a preview for the spring season. Doing well in the fall can open up other opportunities in the spring that would otherwise not be available.”