Men’s Golf gearing up for their Sixth Consecutive National Championship appearance
WEST POINT, Ga. (May 9, 2023)- On Friday, May 5, The NAIA officially announced the field for the 71st Annual NAIA Men's Golf National Championships. There is 29 teams and 11 individuals who are scheduled to compete at the event, which will be located at the Las Sendas Golf Club from May 16-19 in Mesa, Arizona. For the Point Skyhawks, this will make their sixth consecutive National Championship appearance, and the tone for Men's Golf is another opportunity to compete and win.
Men's Golf will have six golfers competing in the bout, and the following golfers will be: Cole Stevens, Jacob Joseph, Trevor Poole, Dominik Wolf, Brendan Porter, and Juan Pablo Gonzalez Rul. Head Coach Maddux Lytle has been preparing his guys for the big stage in Arizona and knows this course will be much different than what they may use to as it is referred to as "desert golf." Lytle has high hopes for his team through any circumstance and mentioned, "Thankfully, we have a group of guys that know the assignment to keep the ball in play and stay patient." "We are excited to be competing again. Going for our program's sixth appearance in a row, our sixth opportunity to win one!" Lytle mentioned.
Golfers like Trevor Poole and Brendan Porter have given the Men's Golf program exceptional contributions at Point University, including being on the National Championship stage. They will look to end their collegiate careers in fashion. Poole and Porter recently walked the stage to receive their degrees at Point University on Saturday, May 6. They now will look to add their well-known experience to Men's Golf at the National Championships to close off their chapters in a storybook ending. After proving his consistent play in each tournament, Trevor Poole was named to the Appalachian Athletic Conference First Team. Brendan Porter is no stranger to the National Championships, as he has competed at a high level. Porter's will to compete and experience add well-proven confidence for Men's Golf at the Las Sendas Golf Club. Cole Stevens looks to continue his fantastic play on the course while building on his momentum as he was recently named the Appalachian Athletic Conference Player of the Year. The conference and his peers respected Stevens' fantastic regular season. He will now focus on continuing his stellar play on the big stage. Dominik Wolf will make his second National Championship appearance for Men's Golf. Head Coach Maddux Lytle was pleased to see how good Wolf's late-season push was. The last two golfers competing for the Skyhawks are the two freshmen, Jacob Joseph, and Juan Pablo Gonzalez Rul. Joseph and Rul will make their first appearances on the big stage in their college careers. Jacob Joseph will look to continue his big year by creating a name for himself in Arizona. Joseph was named an Appalachian Athletic Conference player of the week and First Team All-Conference Golfer earlier this season. Juan Pablo Gonzalez Rul looks to continue the fiery momentum that has helped him give that big push to this point.
For the Men's Golf team, their competitive edge has bolstered the Skyhawks as they improve their scores and overall play each tournament. The Men's Golf team knows their most significant strength is to compete, keep the ball in play, and then let the results show. Lytle reiterated, "Overall, they have worked hard, and we are preparing to the best of our ability to put on a big show on the big stage in Arizona."