A look at the past month of Nicholls golf

The Nicholls State University men’s golf team reflect on their improvement and success over the past month.

In the Battle in The Big Easy Sept. 10-11, the Colonels finished third out of seven teams.

Senior golfer Baker Stevenson and sophomore golfer Connor Campbell tied each other for seventh place in the tournament.

Campbell said he has been impressed with his results so far, as well as the team’s outlook down the road.

“First tournament I played good; the second tournament I dropped in level a little bit,” Campbell said. “The first tournament I was hitting the ball well and felt good. The second tournament I felt like the course was tougher, you had to work the ball more and I had a hard time doing that. I expect us to play solid [in the next tournament]. I expect us to play the best as we can and try to keep the momentum throughout the tournament.”

In their next event, the Sam Hall Intercollegiate on Sept. 17-18, the Colonels finished 11th out of 13 teams, but senior golfer Jack Lee finished in third place and posted his 10th career top-10 individual finish with Nicholls.

Head coach Jame Schilling said Lee’s finish at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate stemmed from the senior’s work ethic in the offseason.

“[Jack] worked really hard on his game and his skill all summer, and he is coming here really excited to make the most of his final year,” Schilling said. “This is his final opportunity; this is it.”

Schilling said both senior golfers, Lee and Stevenson, have improved their play over their college careers.

“I think what you see with both of our seniors [is] you got two guys, who really have improved a lot. Their score average has gone up a lot already compared to last year, and that is what you hope to see as a coach,” Schilling said.

Schilling said these two seniors have grown in knowledge and in spirit.

“[You see] players progress throughout their career. Not only in their skill level, their academic level, but they also mature as people, and those two [senior] guys have really matured at their time at Nicholls,” Schilling said.

Sophomore golfer Liam Bryden said when one of their teammates does well, it has a positive effect on the team.

“I think it is really good for our team, and it proves that Nicholls can compete on a high level, just like any other D1 team,” Bryden said. “It is very impressive, [Lee] is a very consistent performer on the team, and he has proven to be one of the best Nicholls have ever had.”

The Colonels look to repeat their individual accolades throughout the rest of the season, and return to the golf course in Baton Rouge.

Nicholls plays at LSU in the David Toms Intercollegiate this weekend before participating in the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate Oct. 15-16 in Choudrant.