Stanford Men & Duke Women Capture No. 1 Spots in Division I Preseason Coaches’ Polls; Southern California’s Lovemark and Duke’s Blumenherst Top Magazine’s Lists of Players to Watch
NEW YORK, NY—Golf World has published the results of its latest preseason College Coaches’ Polls and its list of the Top 50 male and female "Players to Watch." The content, which is part of Golf World’s annual College Preview issue, can be viewed online now at www.golfworld.com.
On the men’s side, Stanford, the defending NCAA champion, is the top selection in the Golf World/Nike Golf Division I Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Cardinal received 19 first-place votes and will return three of the five starters from last year’s team that won seven titles overall. Among the returning players are two All-Americans, senior Rob Grube and sophomore Joseph Bramlett. Joining the team this year as a freshman is 2004 U.S. Junior champion Sihwan Kim.
Alabama is second in the poll and returns all five of their starters from last year’s squad that had been ranked at the top of the polls for much of the year.
Georgia, Florida and UCLA round out the top-five. All received at least one first-place vote. The Bulldogs return All-Americans Brian Harman and Adam Mitchell. The Gators return Billy Horschel, who Golf World ranks as the second best men’s collegiate entering the 2007-08 season. The Bruins have all of their starters back but will be playing under first-year head coach Derek Freeman.
Jamie Lovemark, a sophomore from Southern California, is number one on Golf World’s list of the "Top 50 Male Players to Watch." The rest of the top ten includes: No. 2 Billy Horschel (Florida); No. 3 Webb Simpson (Wake Forest); No. 4 Kyle Stanley (Clemson); No. 5 Rickie Fowler (Oklahoma St.); No. 6 Michael Thompson (Alabama); No. 7 Brian Harman (Georgia); No. 8 Rob Grube (Stanford); No. 9 Cameron Tringale (Georgia Tech); No. 10 Derek Fathauer (Louisville).
On the women’s side, three-time defending champion Duke is the number one team in the Golf World/NGCA Division I Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Blue Devils received 26 of 29 first-place votes and will return two-time national player of the year, Amanda Blumenherst, and fellow junior All-American Jennie Lee.
Arizona State, which challenged Duke during the spring before finishing 13th at the NCAA Championship, is No. 2 in the poll. The Sun Devils, who received two first-place votes, will return All-Americans Anna Nordqvist, Jennifer Osborn and Azahara Munoz.
The only other team to get a first-place vote is UCLA, ranked No. 3. The Bruins will return All-American Tiffany Joh and bring in recent U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Maria Jose Uribe. Southern California and Auburn round out the top-five.
For the second consecutive year, Duke junior Amanda Blumenherst is the number one woman on the list of the "Top 50 Female Players to Watch." She is followed by: No. 2 Stacy Lewis (Arkansas); No. 3 Anna Nordqvist (Arizona State); No. 4 Jacqui Concolino (Vanderbilt); No. 5 Caroline Westrup (Florida St.); No. 6 Alison Walshe (Arizona); No. 7 Maria Hernandez (Purdue); No. 8 Belen Mozo (Southern California); No. 9 Sandra Gal (Florida); No. 10 Tiffany Joh (UCLA).
Visit Golf World Senior Writer Ryan Herrington’s "Campus Insider" blog to find out the latest on collegiate golf: http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/blogs/campusinsider.
Contact:
Meg D’Incecco, 212-630-2491
meg.d’incecco@golfworld.com
Bret Hopman, 212-630-2490
bret.hopman@golfworld.com
