The College of Charleston men’s golf team begins its defense of its Colonial Athletic Association title with its spring season opener at the Pizza Hut Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational on Feb. 9-10 at Sunbrook Golf Club in St. George, Utah.
The Cougars are one of 13 teams in this year’s field along with host Southern Utah, Boise State, Cal State Northridge, Dixie State, Long Beach State, North Dakota, Northern Kentucky, Oral Roberts, Utah State, Utah Valley, Weber State and Westminster.
CofC will start senior Zach Munroe (Charlotte, N.C.), junior John Jonas (Jacksonville, Fla.), freshman newcomer Anthony Gabriele (West Palm Beach, Fla.), sophomore William Rainey (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomore transfer Philip Oweida (Charlotte, N.C.). The 36-hole tournament will begin on Monday with 18 holes and conclude on Tuesday with 18 holes. It will be contested over the Pointe and Black Rock nines at Sunbrook.
In 2010, College of Charleston won the tournament title carding a score of 576, while former CofC standout Harrison Moore claimed individual medalist honors firing a 138.
“We didn’t have the fall we wanted to have, but we did some things in the offseason to help us improve,” CofC Head Coach Mark McEntire said. “The first thing we did was signed Anthony Gabriele from West Palm Beach, Florida. He has won 14 times and had a stroke average of 68.5, so he has a resume as good as anyone in college golf. We look for him to make an immediate impact. We also added Philip Oweida who is a transfer from High Point University. He is a fantastic player and an ultimate competitor. He brings us that depth and competitiveness which will carry throughout our lineup.
“The thing we lacked in the fall was depth and we have definitely found that this spring. This is the first year in a long time, where we’ve had a lot of competition up-and-down our lineup and I think it’s going to make us that much better. We all know competition makes you a better person and team. We literally have four players who can go out and win a golf tournament individually with Zach (Munroe), John (Jonas), Tony (Gabriele) and Phil (Oweida). I truly believe we can be really good and special this spring.”
