By Spencer Thomas

The men’s golf team will swing into the competition on August 10 at the Pitt State Invitational. This invitational is part of the MIAA (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) conference which the Lions ranked second in last year. During last year’s golf season the lions also won two tournaments hosted in this conference. “We will have a full Div. II schedule this year,” said Head Coach Roger Ellis who is excited to see his team strive to complete the goals they have set for this upcoming season. Some of these goals include winning as many tournaments as they can, as well as scoring the highest amount of conference points out of the teams within the MIAA.

“We are confident that we will represent the school well,” Ellis said upon being asked about the upcoming season. This will be the final season of provisional eligibility for the Lions, which will allow them to qualify for the NCAA Div. II national championship in the spring of 2014. Although next year will be the first time that the men’s golf team can compete at Div. II nationals, they have been playing against Div. II national ranking teams for the past 10 years. Therefore Ellis and the players will have a substantial amount of experience when the time comes to represent Lindenwood at the national level.

Not only is Ellis confident in his players’ athletic abilities, he is also proud of their success academically. “We have been the only NCAA men’s team with an average GPA of 3.0 for the past nine semesters,” Ellis said. Thus in a sport as strategic as golf, these student-athletes are able to use their intelligence as well as their athleticism to be a formidable team. In addition to being a well-rounded group, Ellis also states how close-knit his team is due to their size, being composed of only 12 players on the men’s team. The Lions will be hosting their own tournament here in St. Charles on October 1 at the Whitmoor Country Club.