Tulane Men's Golf Freshmen Number One
Nov 15, 2001 | Women's Golf
Nov. 15, 2001
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane's 2001-02 men's golf freshman class stands at the top of the national Freshman Class Impact Ranking compiled by GolfStat following the conclusion of the fall season. The ranking measures impact of freshmen on the 2001-02 season to date, with determining factors such as number of freshmen in the top five and average score of the freshmen. The Tulane women's freshman class ranked 16th nationally.
The Tulane men sent four freshmen to every tournament this fall as they were joined by just one upperclassman. Rookies Jeff Osborn (Glendale, Calif.), Bill Roach Jr. (Knoxville, Tenn.), Mark Sullivan (Plano, Texas) and Chris Wheeler (Allen, Texas) combined to post three Top 10 and eight Top 25 finishes during the five-event fall schedule.
"I think this ranking is an indication of the kind of impression they have made on Tulane golf in just one semester," said Tulane second-year head coach Tom Shaw of his first recruiting class. "When they signed, I had a good feeling they would step in and play right away. They have all had a great fall. Each one has contributed and posted some good scores. I'm excited having them in the line-up and seeing them improve over the next few years."
Led by the four freshmen, Tulane's team scoring average of 292.4 is nearly 13 strokes better than its final scoring average a year ago. Wheeler leads the freshmen with a stroke average of 73.6, just barely ahead of Osborn's 73.7 with Roach not far behind at 73.9. Every one of Osborn's 15 rounds this fall counted toward the team score. Wheeler, Osborn and Roach each had a low round of 69 this fall.
"This shows that I am looking at players who can come in and play right away," Shaw said. "Anyone who can post good scores is going to come in and play immediately at Tulane."
Sue Bower's freshman class consisted of just two players, Lindsay Hulwick (Littleton, Colo.) and Alexis Wooster (Winnetka, Ill.). Each played all five tournaments for the Green Wave this fall, most recently helping the team to a third place finish at the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate at Kiawah Island, S.C. Each recorded a Top 12 finish this fall in helping the Wave to a final fall ranking of No. 38 by GolfWeek.
The Green Wave men's and women's team resume the 2001-02 schedules next semester.
Players Mentioned
