By Andrew Preston
For the first time in school history, the Trevecca men’s golf team will host a NCAA Midwest Regional tournament.
The tournament, dubbed the “Nashville Music City Regional,” will include more than 100 golfers from 24 different teams with the event tentatively scheduled to take place April 3 and 4 at the Generals Retreat Course at the Hermitage Golf Course.
“This is one of five NCAA Regional tournaments throughout the year,” said director of golf, David Head. “This is a big deal not only for Trevecca, but for Nashville. We’re excited for it.”
The men’s golf team competes annually in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), but also, on a larger scale, in the Midwest Region.
“We are the southernmost school (by about 125 miles) in our region, Kentucky Wesleyan is the next closet so the teams up north love to come down and play here,” said Head.
The Midwest Region is one of the eight different regions in Division II. throughout the United States and is comprised of teams from Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri.
With Trevecca hosting a regional tournament for the first time, Nashville now joins four other major cities that host this tournament annually in Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis.
“The best part of us hosting this tournament is we get to see Midwest (Region) players against Midwest players. That is what it’s all about, seeing other players in our region compete against one another,” said athletic director, Mark Elliott.
According to Head, it’s an easy decision for other teams in the Midwest Region to make the journey to Nashville to compete in this tournament simply due to the nice weather. Finding a host course, however, was a little more difficult.
“This time of year in Nashville it’s hard to find a golf facility to host a tournament because the weather is improving and there is a higher demand for the different courses,” said Head.
The Trojans have competed at the Hermitage Golf Course in the past and have enjoyed success there, leading Head to book the course for his tournament.
“We love the staff at Hermitage, they do a great job,” said Head.
Amongst the 24 teams represented, fellow G-MAC participants include: Alderson Broddaus, Cedarville, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Ohio Valley University.
“We love competing against G-MAC schools any chance we get, to get a little preview of what it will take to win the conference championship,” said Head.
Head is optimistic about his team’s ability to win the tournament, but keeps in mind the tough competition they will be facing.
“A top five finish would be fantastic. Winning the tournament would be great, but a top five finish is realistic. If we can do that we’ll have taken the steps we need to finish out the season,” said Head.
“We want to go and compete well, but another thing we want to do is boost our regional and national ranking,” said junior, Trevor Lay.
If the Trojans are unable to win their fifth consecutive G-MAC tournament in April, they can still qualify for the national tournament as an at-large bid. Lay hopes their Music City tournament results will improve their chances.
“We’re looking forward to the competition level at this tournament. We are competing against some tough teams in our region so (this tournament) will give us an idea of where we are at,” said Lay.
“It’s a big tournament for our program. This is our opportunity to face a lot of the teams we need to beat to potentially get a berth in the NCAA Regional tournament,” said Head.
