No. 2 MGCCC gets back on the links Monday
PERKINSTON — No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast won't have to travel far to tee off the spring half of its golf schedule. The Bulldogs head to Pass Christian to play in the Pearl River Spring Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.
The event is being played at The Oaks Golf Club, which gives Gulf Coast an advantage. Normally, they'll play there every other week during their practice and qualification. They played there every day last week to get ready for this tournament.
"Golf is the sport where home-field advantage probably plays the biggest role," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said.
Gulf Coast swept all three MACCC events in the fall plus their three-round MGCCC Fall Invitational, which was not a conference event.
The Bulldogs are ranked second in the Bushnell Golfweek NJCAA Division II Coaches Poll and third in the GolfStat rankings. Chase Kaiser (So., Natchez/Cathedral) is ranked 10th among NJCAA Division II and III golfers, according to GolfStat.
Gulf Coast will play in two more MACCC tournaments, plus a pair of tournaments in Alabama, before the postseason starts in April. This week's tournament will be a preview of the conference championship on April 4-5, and the NJCAA Gulf District Tournament will be played in Natchez on April 20-21.
The Bulldogs hope to be making another trip to Plymouth, Ind., in May for the NJCAA Division II Golf Championship.
All nine golfers on the Gulf Coast roster will play this week, but the five-player team will consist of Kaiser, Will Burnham (Fr., Jackson/Jackson Prep), Andrew Zielinski (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs), Alessio Graziani (So., Johannesburg, South Africa/Beaulieu College) and Jackson Wise (Fr., Pontotoc/North Pontotoc).
"We're playing really well," Thornton said. "We had the typical early January rust, but besides that we've played exceptionally well."
For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
