As the Post University men's golf team competes for the 2012 NCAA Division II National Championship, this blog will provide periodic updates from Louisville. The blog will provide supplemental information to give fans and followers and in-depth look at the trip from the perspective of Sports Information Director Andy Alongi (Double A to my faithful followers).
Like I've done in the past in my previous jobs, I encourage your comments and feedback. Please send your thoughts, well-wishes and comments to
aalongi@post.edu. If you're lucky they might make their way onto the blog.
Thursday, May 17
5:53 p.m. – Last Post/Farewell
Hello all! I'm checking in one final time as my journey with the men's golf team comes to a close tomorrow. I begin my journey back to Hartford before the sun rises, so needless to say, it will be tough to update you during my travels. Plus, who wants to hear about my flights home other than my mother.
I wanted to take a moment to congratulate this group of young men and the coaching staff. To get to the national championship takes a tremendous amount of work and dedication. I'd like to thank the coaching staff, particularly Pete Stevens for allowing me to travel with the team and bring the fans all this information and coverage of the squad during this excellent run to the National Championship.
I hope you enjoyed the blog, and hopefully there will be more of them coming in the future, as I believe Post University Athletics is beginning to peak. In my modest opinion, I think the golf team broke through first, but other teams will follow suit shortly.
Until next time readers!
10:42 a.m. – Road Signs provide laughs on way to Round 3
Good morning blog followers and welcome back. Currently the team is playing its third round at the 2012 NCAA Division II National Golf Championship at The Cardinal Club. The Eagles are in 20
th place and this morning our friends who maintain the @PostUniversity twitter account spotted this article in the Republican-American Sports Section. Thanks to those guys and Roger Cleveland for the piece.
Read it now.
This morning on the way to the course when I was on the entry way to the highway, I noticed a sign that listed a number of “modes of transportation” that were prohibited on the highway. The one that made me laughed the hardest was a horse-drawn carriage. Good news: I didn't see any horses on the highway.
Later today, we'll have photos from the day as well as numbers and a recap after all the action is done.
Wednesday, May 16
9:21 a.m. – REMAX lobbies for free publicity, blimp lands on course
Good Morning to the faithful blog readers! Even though it is just about half past nine in the morning, the team has already completed six holes of its 18-hole round today. Tee times started at 7:30 a.m., and Post was in the first five groups that left the clubhouse.
Upon my arrival at the course, I noticed a blimp that was flying rather low. Turns out, it landed on the 18
th fairway, and the ruling was a large movable object. The rules official I spoke to said if a ball hit the blimp, a reshot would be allowed. I can't say if it was a planned landing or not, but we'll say it was planned for the sake of everyone involved. I'd say it took about an hour to move the blimp and get it off the course, which is pretty good considering how large the blimp was. There is a picture in the blog of the blimp on the course. Enjoy!
The rest of the day is shaping up as follows. Finish up the round, find some lunch, get the rest of some work done, and most importantly game two of the Eastern Conference Finals. Additionally, we welcomed Athletic Director Anthony Fallacaro to the trip last night.
Hope you guys are enjoying. Please continue to send your comments along. The guys and coaching staff really appreciates your support.
Tuesday, May 15
6:51 p.m. – Round 1 in the books/Opening Ceremony Recap
The golf team completed the first round of competition at The Cardinal Club, and a difficult course it is. The Eagles are in 20
th place after the opening round. Post will tee off in the early group for the second round. The groups will be the same as they were today; however, the group times will be a bit earlier. Tee times are below:
7:30 a.m. – McNamara (Post), Taylor Welborn (South Carolina – Aiken), Mark Geddes (Grand Canyon)
7:40 a.m. –
Sebastian Noesgaard (Post), Gaines Miller (South Carolina – Aiken), Tyler Wooldridge (Grand Canyon)
7:50 a.m. –
Thomas Rees (Post), Hayden Letien (South Carolina – Aiken), Marcus Synegal (Grand Canyon)
8:00 a.m. –
Ross Earnshaw (Post), J.P. Solis (South Carolina – Aiken), Ryan Mahoney (Grand Canyon)
8:10 a.m. –
Anthony Netto (Post), Matt Atkins (South Carolina – Aiken), Brandon Moore (Grand Canyon)
Enough about the golf side of the trip. Last night the NCAA held its opening ceremonies, and all the teams involved in each of the six national championships were invited to Churchill Downs to take it in. Head coach Pete Stevens and
Ross Earnshaw both gave rave reviews, and each mentioned the food as one of the high points. However, Ross was most impressed with the fireworks display that concluded the event at the home of the Kentucky Derby.
As for me, I'm off to find some dinner, but we'll have a
recap, statistics and a
photo gallery from today's action. Continue to check the website for more information.
It will be tough to have a post in the morning, but I'll see what I can do.
9:06 a.m. – Tee it up
Well the day is finally here. Post will take its first swing in program history at the NCAA National Championship, and the individual who is bestowed with that honor is
Anthony McNamara who begins play at the 10
th hole at noon. The Eagles are in the final team pairings to tee off today. Below is a complete list of tee times.
Noon – McNamara (Post), Taylor Welborn (South Carolina – Aiken), Mark Geddes (Grand Canyon)
12:10 p.m. –
Sebastian Noesgaard (Post), Gaines Miller (South Carolina – Aiken), Tyler Wooldridge (Grand Canyon)
12:20 p.m. –
Thomas Rees (Post), Hayden Letien (South Carolina – Aiken), Marcus Synegal (Grand Canyon)
12:30 p.m. –
Ross Earnshaw (Post), J.P. Solis (South Carolina – Aiken), Ryan Mahoney (Grand Canyon)
12:40 p.m. –
Anthony Netto (Post), Matt Atkins (South Carolina – Aiken), Brandon Moore (Grand Canyon)
Follow the whole day with
live results.
Now for more information on
The Cardinal Club. According to the NCAA Manual, “The Cardinal Club is a private Golf Club located in western Shelby County, Kentucky. The 18-hole championship course is the design of Spencer Holt. The course features: bent grass greens, tees and fairways, bluegrass and fescue native areas. The course opened in October 2001 to rave reviews and has played host to the 2006 Kentucky State Amateur, 2007 Men's Big East Championship, and 2008 Inaugural Fightmaster Cup. The highlight of the facility is the 20-plus acre practice facility featuring a dual-sided long game area, three short game practice greens and three putting greens.
Well, time to get ready for the first day of action. Really exciting day for Post University!
Monday, May 14
5:41 p.m. – Found the Sun/The Bluegrass State has green grass?
Greetings from the Bluegrass State and the Louisville Marriott Downtown, and Double A central for the remainder of the week. Since we've last met, a lot has happened. I've been on two planes, and flown over countless states. I also stopped by the golf course to check in with the team and coaching staff. Included in the post are a pair of photos I saw in the airport. One promotes the Festival, while the other urges us to “Experience Kentucky.”
It is sunny and somewhere in the 70s and the guys played a practice round early today, and by the time I got to the course at around 4 p.m., four of the guys were working on a putting green and
Ross Earnshaw was at one of the driving ranges (Yeah, you read correctly ONE of the driving ranges). There are at least two ranges at The Cardinal Club which is a beautiful venue for this event.
We'll get into some more detail about the course as the week goes on, maybe tomorrow. But the lamenting joke of the afternoon came when CACC All-Tournament Team selection
Thomas Rees was trying to figure out where the blue grass was in the Bluegrass State. I'll just leave that one at that.
On deck, the team will head to the opening ceremony at Churchill Downs (site of the Kentucky Derby), and I will find a place to watch Game 1 of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals.
Tonight's homework: Read
this blog post about the men's golf team qualifying for the National Championship.
7:37 a.m. – Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Good morning fans! Welcome to the Post University men's golf team's blog for the 2012 NCAA Division II National Championship. My name is Andy Alongi, the Sports Information Director at Post University, and I'll be bringing you an in-depth look at the Eagles' run to the Division II National Title in Louisville this week.
As I sit and look out over a rain-slickened tarmac, in the terminal of Bradley International Airport and wait to board my first of two United Airlines flights today, let me bring you up to speed on the team. The seven-person travel party left Sunday and got to Louisville in the afternoon. The five players –
Ross Earnshaw,
Anthony McNamara,
Anthony Netto,
Sebastian Noesgaard and
Thomas Rees - will play a practice round at The Cardinal Club today. It will be a shotgun start, and the practice round should give the guys a good feel for the course.
They'll play the first round Tuesday, with tee times in the afternoon starting on the 10
th hold.
Before we jump too far ahead, I have an assignment for ALL readers! This morning I awoke to a nice story in the Waterbury Republican-American written by Mark Jaffe. Give it a read by
CLICKING HERE.
Also be sure to read up on the program with our
tournament notes and
preview on PostEagles.com.
That's all for now. Here's to smooth travel. Blog to you from Louisville.
