Sept. 1, 2004

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The TCU men's golf team enters the 2004-05 season ranked 17th in the nation according to the Golf World Preseason Coaches Poll, the magazine has announced. The Horned Frogs return three regulars from last year's five-man lineup that claimed the program's fourth consecutive conference title, ended the year ranked 10th in the nation and placed 20th at the NCAA Championships. While two members of last year's squad (All-American Adam Meyer and four-year letterwinner Stephen Polanski) have graduated, TCU retains three All-Conference USA performers who ended the 2003-04 campaign ranked among the country's top 100 collegiate golfers. In addition, TCU has a whole host of other golfers who have the chance to compete for playing time. Headlining the team this year will be seniors David Schultz (68th in last year's final rankings) and J.J. Killeen (93rd) and junior Colby Beckstrom (69th). All three will contend for All-America honors in the upcoming season, and Beckstrom was named to Golf World's list of "50 Players to Watch." In addition, the crew includes four other golfers who have seen past duty for the Horned Frogs. Juniors Drew Pigg, Jeff Marcinowski and Mark Jauernek, along with sophomore Drew Stoltz, have combined to make 12 collegiate appearances for the Frogs. A group of young players, including juniors Joe Starzec and Drew Laning, redshirt freshman Robert Rice and true freshmen Franklin Corpening and James Sacheck, will also push for roster spots. "We have a couple of spots where we had solid players last year that are wide open," head coach Bill Montigel said. "Hopefully we will have some players who will bring their golf games to the next levels and help our program this year. We have a really strong schedule and will need to play our best in order to compete with a number of strong teams across the country." The 2004-05 schedule is an outstanding one that is sure to rate among the nation's 10 most difficult. TCU begins its season Sept. 11-12 at The Ridges Intercollegiate in Johnson City, Tenn. In the past four years the Horned Frogs have won the event twice, own one runner-up finish and a third-place showing. The Horned Frogs have won six conference titles and have grabbed five top-20 finishes at the NCAAs since 1997. TCU has made 15 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Regionals and has advanced to the NCAA Championships 10 times since 1990. -www.gofrogs.com- Golf World College Coaches Poll
Preseason Edition
1. Georgia 430
2. Florida 425
2. Georgia Tech 425
4. Arizona 370
5. Oklahoma State 347
6. Kentucky 346
7. UNLV 296
8. Texas 289
9. Clemson 284
10. Arizona State 260
11. BYU 254
12. Southern California 245
13. UCLA 232
14. New Mexico 213
15. Pepperdine 181
16. Auburn 165
17. TCU 159
18. Washington 151
19. California 150
20. South Carolina 132
21. Vanderbilt 128
22. Oklahoma 109
23. Minnesota 96
24. Tennessee 85
25. SMU 53