TOWSON, Md. – With giddy anticipation, the Towson University men's golf team hits the links for the first time in 2019-20. Student-athletes across the country begin with high hopes and the opportunity to turn their dreams into reality.
The Tigers begin the season by competing in the 2019 Turning Stone – Tiger Intercollegiate tournament hosted by the University of Missouri. The 54-hole event will be played at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York, just outside of Syracuse beginning Sunday with the first two rounds. The final round will be played on Monday.
For Towson sophomore
Justin Griffith, he was able to spend time before returning to Towson in Whitefish, Montana and visit Glacier National Park with his family for a relaxing end to the summer, which was perfect for his preparation for the season.
The time away was great for Griffith, who is looking to build upon his solid freshman year in which he led the Tigers with 22 pars at the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championships and was Towson's top finisher in two of its five spring events.
"I'm excited to get back to work this year," Griffith said. "We have a good group of guys and I believe we can do some good things this year. I am constantly trying to improve the way I approach each round. I've been working really hard just try to go out there and do the best I can each day. If I can commit to that I know it will make it more enjoyable and I will see the results I want."
In addition to Griffith, also competing for the Tigers this weekend on the par 72, 6,882-yard course will be sophomore
Hayden Rousselle, junior
Jackson Courtney, senior
Spencer Alexander, and junior
Derek Gold. They all had memorable moments last season for the Tigers and are eager to build on those performances.
Alexander, who had an eagle at the CAA Championship, was Towson's top finisher at the Towson Invitational, carding a one under to finish third overall. Courtney shot a season best 70 (-1) in the second round of the Patriot Intercollegiate and in the second round of the Towson Invitational. Gold shot a career low of 74 at the Towson Spring Invitational helping the Tigers tie for first place overall. Rousselle shot collegiate career low of 70 during the second round of the Towson Spring Invitational.
Towson will be challenged by a strong field of teams that includes Missouri, Bethune-Cookman, Binghamton, Boston College, Cleveland State, Delaware, Mount St. Mary's, Niagara, North Carolina, Northern Kentucky, Sacred Heart, Valparaiso, Wright State and Youngstown State.
"This weekend will be fun on multiple fronts," Towson third year head coach
Mike Larkin said. "We've had a lot of turnover in our roster from last year. It's exciting to see some fresh faces and such a young squad, with more than half the roster being underclassmen. This tournament gives us a chance to test ourselves against a few of the best teams in the country in Missouri (64) and UNC (23). That's an opportunity we didn't get very frequently in my first two years. So I see this weekend as more about getting out there and competing for the first time with a new lineup, and using it as a measuring stick, than it is about anything else."
Following this tournament, the Tigers will play in the Doc Gimmler Invitational at Bethpage Red on Saturday, Sept. 14 and Sunday, Sept. 15.
TIGERS IN THE COMMUNITY
The Towson University athletics department deems community service as one of its highest priorities to give back to the Greater Baltimore area.
For the seventh consecutive year, the department exceeded 10,000 hours of community service to the Greater Baltimore region, finishing with 11,162 hours of community service in the 2018-19 academic season.
Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition.
Towson had a 97% participation rate, attended 118 community service opportunities and volunteered with 19 organizations.
Towson won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.
