Prickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian University, 2002 Page: 116
303 p. : ill. ; 32 cm.View a full description of this yearbook.
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But though they appeared to possess the ingredients
necessary to make another run at a NCAA
Division II national tournament bid, two semesters of
poor play saw the Wildcat golf team slowly relinquish
the upper-echelon position it had held at the
start of the year. The 'Cats began the season as one of
the teams to beat, but ended the year as a beaten
team.
"Throughout the entire year we never played up
to our potential," Jarrett said. "Our returning players
didn't step up like they needed to, and our new players
also struggled the whole season."
Looking at the make-up of the squad, pinpointing
the reason for ACU's lack of success in 2002 was difficult.
At the start of the season, Jarrett appeared to
have assembled another group of players that could
rival the abilities of any other Division II golf powerhouse.Alongside his returning starters, senior James
Fleming and junior Brian O'Leary, Jarrett added the
skills of several junior college transfers, including
juniors David Van Ryke, Gary Pike and Trey Rowe.
Those three, along with returning Wildcat seniors
Rustin Gradke and Patrick Buhrmann, gave the 'Cats
an enviable mix of talent and experience that seemed
poised to take up where the 2001 team left off.
But for whatever reason, ACU's success in 2002
never lived up to its talent. Coming off a wonderful
2001 campaign in which he was named third-team
all-America, senior James Fleming never got his
game on track, and struggled throughout the fall and
spring semesters.
Meanwhile, the junior college additions to the
team struggled with their games as they adjusted to
a new school and new teammates. And though the
'Cats would show flashes of brilliance throughout
the year, a sixth-place finish in the Lone StarConference post-season tournament and a fifth-place
finish in the NCAA South Central regional tournament
put an end to any hopes ACU had of earning a
national tournament bid.
But despite their lack of success, 2002 was not a
total disappointment for the Wildcats. A lone bright
spot for ACU was found in the play of Wildcat junior
Brian O'Leary.
After being named honorable mention allAmerica
following the 2001 season, O'Leary continued
to excel in 2002, earning an invitation to the
NCAA Division II national tournament as an individual,
just as his teammate, senior James Fleming,
had done the year before. And though O'Leary
would finish a disappointing 52nd in the championship,
just getting there was an achievement he
could be proud of.
"One of my goals throughout college has been to
play well enough to make it to the national tournament
as an individual," O'Leary said. "Even though I
was disappointed that the team didn't qualify, I was
very pleased to accomplish one of my personal
goals."
Although the team's performance as a group was
disappointing, O'Leary's personal accomplishment
did effectively end the season for ACU on a high
note.
But even before Jarrett watched O'Leary hole out
his last putt, he was already looking ahead to 2003,
when his team would be given another opportunity
to regain their forfeited status as one of Division II
golf's elite.
And only time would tell whether the best laid
plans of the coach and his players would come to
fruition, and bring the ACU golf team a return to success
in the coming year.
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Abilene Christian University. Prickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian University, 2002, yearbook, 2002; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth39886/m1/119/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.