The St. Bonaventure golf team opens the spring portion of the 2015-16 season with a trip to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for the Atlantic 10 Match Play Championship hosted by George Washington Feb. 22-23 at the par-72, 7,222-yard Weston Hills Country Club.
The Bonnies, seeded eighth, will begin tournament play against top-seeded VCU in round one.
The two day, three-round tournament is bracket style, as the winner of their round one matchup will move on to round two in the championship bracket, and the loser moves to the consolation bracket.
Each team will determine a lineup of six players before play starts, which will serve as the lineup throughout the tournament.
This week will serve as Ryan Swanson's first action as coach of the Bonnies. Swanson was named interim head coach in January.
"What I want to do is relay to my guys some of the successes, experiences and strategies from my time as a golfer here," said Swanson, a 2008 graduate of St. Bonaventure and one of the program's top players over the past two decades.
Swanson has high hopes as he enters his first season as a coach.
"I want to go down there and win every match," said Swanson. "Wanting anything less than that, you wouldn't be doing yourself any favors. The guys have a lot of talent, and we're ready to showcase that against a really good VCU team."
SBU's lineup features senior Josh Stauffer, who received multiple Atlantic 10 Golfer of the Week honors during the fall season. Stauffer led the Bonnies with a three-under 67 at the Leo Keenan Invitational, which was the lowest score of any Bonaventure golfer last fall. He finished the fall with an average score of 75.50, earning medalist honors at the Little Three Championship in September.
Sophomore Patrick Sheerer finished tied for third at the Little Three and was also strong at the Binghamton Fall Invitational, finishing tied for 23rd. Fellow sophomore Corey Long placed tied eighth at the Little Three and had an average score of 77.50 during the fall.
Brent Morgan was one of the top Atlantic 10 rookies during the fall. Morgan turned in a top-10 finish in the Keenan Invitational, and averaged just over a 77 score through his first four career tournaments.
Redshirt senior Darren Simons earned a 78.64 average score through five tournaments in the fall. Senior Patrick Milkovich also will be in the lineup after appearing in four tournaments during the fall.
"The guys are ready, they're prepared," Swanson said. "Now it's a matter of putting it together on the golf course."
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