Jimmie men looking to stay hot

The second half of the men’s golf season began much like the fall portion ended for Jamestown College.

The Jimmies made it 6-for-6 in winning meets, carrying over their first half success into the spring.

Today, they go for win No. 7 and they’ll be the heavy favorite at the 3-team Jimmie Invite at Hillcrest Golf Course.

It’s another tune-up for the Jimmies, who have April 22-23 circled — the date of the A.I.I./Independent Conference Tournament in Prescott, Ariz., where they’ll try to qualify for nationals for the first time in school history.

Between 12 and 13 teams will compete with the top two advancing.

“In the polls right now we’re ranked eighth (among independents) so that’s some bulletin board material for us,” said JC coach Tyler Bormann. “The (A.I.I.) is very deep. There are some very strong programs, but I do think we’re better than (8th).

“Ultimately, we’ll have a chance to prove that on the course and that’s all we can ask for.”

Led by medalist Jack Bietz, the Jimmies opened the second half with a win at Heart River in Dickinson where the wind was howling last weekend.

“Jack shot a 75 in the first round and I thought he played extremely well,” Bormann said.

Their depth, a key factor in their strong season, came in handy on Day 2 of the meet. They currently have the No. 1 (Brad Quast), 3 (Tommy Rockis), 4 (Bietz) and 5-ranked (Kameron Hunter) players in the conference and are No. 1 as a team.

The summer-like temperatures, at least until this week, also came in handy. Bormann also said both courses in town — Hillcrest and the County Club — have been very accommodating to his teams.

“Our guys were itching to get going and from what I gather we were able to get started sooner than any team has here in a very long time,” Bormann said. “It really was a big deal because we’ll be competing against teams that have been playing outside since February. That’s not an excuse for us, it’s just a fact. We just have to be a little more focused and make up that ground.”

The women’s team has a tougher task.

They’ll be without freshman Kelsey Ross, who was ranked No. 1 after the spring season, although they hope to get her back in the fall.

Tracy Gustafson has moved into the top spot and had a strong fall and carried that over with a third-place finish in Dickinson.

“We’re just trying to stress the opportunity to get experience at a pretty high level and then hopefully in two or three years down the road we’ll have laid the groundwork for the future.”

Today’s meet kicks off a busy stretch for the Jimmies. They’ll play in the Viking Invitational at Village Green in Moorhead on Sunday and Monday. The format will be the same as nationals, which for the men will feature 36 holes in Round 1 and 18 the second day.

“I think the team feels good about where we’re at right now,” Bormann said. “We have improvements we need to make, but overall things are going in the right direction.”

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at daves@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, jimmies, golf