Grand Forks, N.D. -- Head coach Tim Swanson has what he calls a "young" team ready to tackle the 2015-16 season, but fortunately for the third-year head coach there will be two seniors captaining the squad as it preps for year two in the Big Sky Conference.
That duo consists of Bismarck native Jacob Dehne and Cottage Grove, Minn., native Aaron Pulanco and both were mainstays in Swanson's lineup throughout the 2014-15 season."
"Our two captains are students of the game and know what it takes to play well," UND head coach Tim Swanson said. "We saw it from both of them at times last season and I think we will see even more consistency from that duo this season.
"They know what it takes to turn a good round into a great round and they are always well-prepared for competition. Those are traits they will pass onto the young guys on our team."
Dehne was the team's top scorer during his first season with the program after transferring from Gilbert-Chandler Junior College in Arizona, posting a stroke average of 76.93. His best tournament came at the Coyote Classic where he tied for second after making a three-man playoff for medalist honors. His 223 (+7) equaled his low 54-hole total set the week before at the Jackrabbit Fall Invitational.
Pulanco saved his best golf for the spring season, posting a pair of 228's (+12) down the stretch at the Sacramento State Invitatioanl and Cape Fear Intercollegiate. He ended up with a 77.97 stroke average and turned in his best round of the season with a 71 (-1) in the opening round of the Pat Hicks Invitational.
Dehne and Pulanco will be joined by two more returners and three newcomers that make up Swanson's seven-man squad.
Returning to the team along with the captains are junior Brady Ohman and sophomore Daniel Sayler.
Ohman played in three early tournaments in the fall and the team's final two tournaments in the spring finishing with an 82.93 stroke average. He posted a season-best 79 (+7) twice during the season, including round two at the Big Sky Championship.
Sayler brings the momentum of being the team's top finisher at the Big Sky Championship into his second collegiate season. He tied for 29th at the event, equaling a season-best 54-hole total at 234 (+18). Sayler had 11 rounds in the 70's during the campaign and finished with an 81.12 stroke average.
Swanson expects freshman Jeremy Kirk and Jordan Smith along with transfer Jack McClintock to push the veterans for spots in the lineup. Smith, from Bismarck, and McClintock, from Rugby, both had successful runs at the North Dakota State Tournaments in their final prep seasons.
Smith took fourth individually and led his St. Mary's team to a third-place finish at the 2015 Class A State Tournament, while McClintock won the Class B individual title a a senior in 2014. He spent his first collegiate season at St. Cloud State where he played in four events and had a season-low 70 (-2) at the UNK Fall Invite.
Kirk is from Thunder Bay, Ontario and was one of the most successful prep golfers in that region. He won four district tournaments in his final prep season.
The Schedule
UND will open the 2015-16 season with a return trip to the Arbor Links Invitational hosted by Omaha Monday and Tuesday of this week. The stop in Nebraska will be one of seven familiar courses to be played by the squad, while there will be two new tournaments on the schedule as well.
Dehne will look for some revenge at the Coyote Classic after coming up a hole short in the three-man playoff at the event last season in Dakota Dunes, S.D. This year's tournament is slated for Sept. 21-22.
The first new event for the team will conclude the fall season as the Zach Johnson Invitational will be hosted by Drake in Des Moines, Iowa on Oct. 5-6. The reigning British Open Champion played his collegiate golf for the Bulldogs.
A busy spring schedule includes seven tournaments and UND will open that stretch at the Pat Hicks Thunderbird Tournament Feb. 8-9. A return trip to the Atchafalaya Intercollegiate in Patterson, La., is next up for UND on Feb. 22-23 before remaining down south for the Colin Montgomerie HBU Spring Invitatioanl. This new tournament will be played at The Woodlands, Texas Feb. 29-March 1.
Three familliar tournaments will wrap up the regular season as UND travels to California for the Sacramento State Invitational (March 7-8) and North Carolina for the Cape Fear Intercollegiate (March 13-14) before concluding things in Arkansas at the Red Wolves Intercollegiate (April 4-5).
The team will get a three-and-a-half week break before traveling to Nevada and the Boulder Creek Golf Club for the Big Sky Championship (April 29-May 1).
-- UND --
