For the first time in school history, the South Dakota State men’s golf team was picked to win the 2016 Summit League title in a poll of the league’s head coaches.

 

The Jackrabbits received four first-place votes from the league’s head coaches and 60 points. Last season, SDSU finished third in the league championship for the third consecutive year and fourth overall after being picked eighth in the preseason poll.

 

“I think this is a good barometer of where we have come compared to last year. Last year, we were picked eighth and now being picked first, that is a testament to our players’ work ethic, the work they have put in and the administrations support that they have given us,” second-year Director of Golf Casey VanDamme said. “It’s a preseason poll and the only thing I know for sure is that The Summit League Golf Championship will not look the way the preseason poll does as evidence of last year.”

 

Oral Roberts, last season’s runner-up, was picked second followed by eight-time league champion Western Illinois in third. The Golden Eagles collected three first-place votes and the Fighting Leathernecks two.

 

Defending Summit League champion Denver was fourth followed by South Dakota in fifth, IUPUI sixth, Omaha seventh, Fort Wayne eighth and North Dakota State ninth.

SDSU junior Grant Smith (Des Moines, Iowa) leads the Jackrabbits and is second in The Summit League with a 72.50 scoring average in 12 rounds. He had four rounds below par and collected a pair of top-five finishes.

Freshman Felipe Strobach (Lima, Peru) and junior Trevor Tobin (Brandon) are shooting 74.11 and 74.17, respectively with Tobin turning in the Jackrabbits’ best finish, third at The Jackrabbit with three-rounds of 70 for a 210. Strobach and Tobin rank 11^th and 12^th, respectively in The Summit League in scoring average.

The Jacks finished the fall season with a 295.33 scoring average and three top-10 finishes, including fifth at The Jackrabbit Sept. 25-28.

 

The 2016 Summit League Men’s Golf Championship will be May 1-3 at the Sand Creek Station Golf Club in Newton, Kan. The team champion will earn the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Men’s Golf Tournament.

 

The SDSU men’s golf team opens play at the Arizona Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Arizona in Tucson Jan. 29-30.

 

2016 Men’s Golf Preseason Poll

Rank       Team                                 Points (1st)

1. South Dakota State (4)           60
2. Oral Roberts (3)                       54
3. Western Illinois (2)                  47
4. Denver                                       42
5. South Dakota                             41
6. IUPUI                                         30
7. Omaha                                       18
8. Fort Wayne                                17
9. North Dakota State                   15