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Sitting here in the gate area of the
Wake-up came early today, 3:30 a.m. CDT to be exact. After loading the vehicles, we made the half-hour or so drive to the airport and began the whole process of getting back to
Getting to the NCAA Regionals is never an easy accomplishment and advancing out of them is extremely difficult. We wish the advancing teams well in
It’s always difficult to say goodbye to the senior class. Will
Following play on Saturday, the team and some of the parents made their way to The Oasis, an
I guess now is a good time to say some thank yous for this trip. This is a great team to deal with and a lot of fun to be around. Coach Hardwick and Coach Sharp run a great operation and the Hokies showed a great deal of the “Hokie Respect” that we as a department strive for. Here in
We could not do these blogs without the talent and expertise of webmaster Damian Salas. Even though there are not a lot of teams still competing, this is an extremely busy time for Damian. He kept it all up and running smoothly.
I hope that all of our readers have enjoyed these posts. We are always trying new things to better inform our fans. Let us know what you think. Until the next time, fairways and greens and Go Hokies!
Play resumed at 1:15 p.m. and the Hokies jumped to four-under for the day when Garland Green birdied the par-three 12th hole. He had hit his first shot before the delay and was forced to wait two and one-half hours for his second birdie of the first three holes.
While play resumed, the rain never stopped. The temperature dropped significantly and the wind picked up. Conditions for the first hour of play were as tough as I have witnessed in NCAA action, but they, obviously have been the same for all competitors. The Hokies have struggled since the resume of play and the tougher front nine still awaits the Hokies.
I will post again before we leave the course. Also, look for the tournament recap on hokiesports.com.
The Hokies got out to their needed fast start, but the weather finally got the best of the course, as rain came and stopped play at 10:15 a.m. CDT. The Hokies had three players, Drew Weaver, Garland Green and Marshall Bailey birdie holes before play was stopped.
We had seen no rain until today and were hoping that the rain would hold off until the late afternoon, but no such luck. Tournament officials, led by NCAA Committee member Jack Key of the Southland Conference, are doing a good job of keeping the coaches informed of the status. As it stands as of 12:15 p.m., the latest we can resume play will be 2:30 p.m., and a decision will be made around 1:30 p.m. giving the grounds crew a chance to get the course back in shape.
The players, as well as coaches and the fans, are all gathered in various areas of the clubhouse here. Luckily, there is lots of room here. They started the lunch service a few minutes ago and the teams quickly made their way to eat. Today’s menu includes fajitas.
In the men’s locker room, there is a video game tournament going, while the Hokies are in the club room, eating and watching the Nationwide event on the television. The Syracuse-Maryland lacrosse game was on earlier, but yours truly was out –voted on that one.
I’ll post again as soon as we know something.
The Hokies got out to a good start on Friday, but the second nine, which for the second straight day was the front nine, proved too tough to tame for the Hokies, as Tech shot 22-over-par 306 to fall to 12th place. Most of the Hokies’ downfall came after the turn, although the 18th (the team’s nine hole of the day) was not a lot of fun.
Although the Hokies have a number of teams to pass, they are 15 strokes out of fifth place. That is important to remember because the top five teams advance.to the nationals in
The weather was hot again, but the wind was not as severe. This is known as the Hill Country and this course goes through many altitude changes over its 7,412-yards.
We ran into another Hokie today. A resident of Steiner Ranch, John Flynn, walked some of the final holes with the team today. That was extra impressive since he had volunteered as a scorer with the tournament and had already walked 18 holes this morning. A 1982 graduate, John was proudly wearing his maroon VT shirt and was rooting for his Hokies. It never fails to amaze me that regardless where we travel,
I’ll wrap it up for now. Tomorrow will be an interesting day. Let’s wish the Hokies well as they try and overcome this deficit and advance to
The Hokies have started off strong again this morning at the NCAA Austin Regional on Friday morning. As was proven on Thursday, par will be a very good score on this golf course and Tech has started out with a few of those. Garland Green sank a long birdie putt on the par-three 12th hole, the team’s third hole of the day.
As of noon Central time, the Hokies had the best score of the day to that point, even par. Only Texas-Arlington at one-under was better.
The wind is not as strong today and the clouds have burned off, so we are expecting temperatures in the low 90s again. With the Hokies’ later tee times, the team will not finish the turn for a about an hour.
I will try and post again before the wrap-up is posted on hokiesports.com. I also hope to have some photos to post, as well. Until then, have a great day and congrats to all the graduates this weekend in
Not a bad first-round for the Hokies. The team got off to a fast start, playing what is generally considered the easier nine holes on the course. Drew Weaver was solid throughout the round and Will Oldham had a good start to the day, before having trouble at the end. Matt Boyd had a very strange round. He drove the ball beautifully the entire day, but really struggled with the putter.
Following a quick bite to eat in the clubhouse, the Hokies were back at it on the range. Boyd spent most of his time on the putting green, working on his game. All players played well at some point today, so Coach Hardwick knew they would be able to take those positives and work to improve from there.
The course here at the
We’ll be back at it in the morning. Keep following your Hokies on hokiesports.com.
Matt Boyd swung his Nike driver at precisely 9:40 a.m. CDT and the Hokies were off and running at the Austin Regional to begin NCAA tournament play on Thursday morning. The weather is supposed to be low 90s and windy for today's first round.
Obviously, Boyd was judged healthy and took his spot in the fifth position in the starting line-up for the Hokies. He got some extra treatment from the Texas athletic trainer this morning and felt good enough to play.
The field here in Austin is considered by the national golf media to be, perhaps, the strongest of the six regional sites. With the host Longhorns as the fourth seed here, that's easy to believe. The top five teams from each of the regional sites will advance to The Inverness Club in Toledo for the finals.
Well, I'm off to catch up with the team for their round, but thought I'd post a quick blog and send some photos. A special thanks to webmaster Damian Salas for getting all this together for your reading. I'll check in later today. Go Hokies!
The Hokies finished their final on-course preparations for the NCAA Austin Regional this afternoon. The morning's practice round was followed by a quick lunch and then some work on the range. Back at the hotel, the coaches attended the requisite championship meeting and then it was time for dinner.
Before heading off to dinner, the team had their final team meeting before competition begins. The team's meeting was short, but informative. The staff went over topics discussed at the coaches meeting. Rules were the most important part of the session. One new rule this season was the banning of cell phones on the course by players. Also, coaches no longer get to use golf carts. Local rules were also discussed, including hazards and out of bounds. The rules of golf are standard, but each course has its own individual quirks.
The Texans in the group were excited, as was I, to see a Z'Tejas right down the road. Everyone left full and happy. A great dinner of Tex-Mex and Southwestern fare.
Some of the parents arrived in town today and former player Rusty Wylie made the drive over from Houston to support his alma mater. Wylie played for Coach Hardwick and the Hokies in the early 90s, and was a teammate of current associate head coach Brian Sharp. He currently lives in the Houston area and owns two Chik-fil-a restaurants in Katy, Texas. Hokies are everywhere and I'm sure we will see more in the coming days.
Although this is a championship event, the team follows the same routine as any other tournament. This team prepares for moments like these throughout the season.
The Hokies begin competition beginning at 9:40 p.m. CDT on Thursday morning from the 10th tee. Tech will be grouped with New Mexico State and Mississppi State in the first round. I'll try and post during tomorrow's first round. Check back then. Go Hokies!
The Hokies got the practice round started right on time this morning, teeing off at 8:40 a.m. CDT in nice, somewhat cool and breezy conditions. The NCAA is allowing each team about 20 minutes per hole, so the team was planning on a six-hour tour of this course.
Following the practice round, head coach Jay Hardwick and associate head coach Brian Sharp will need to make one last determination before the start of play on Thursday morning. Redshirt junior Matt Boyd has been plagued with an injury issue during most of the spring and the coaching staff will have to make sure that he is healthy enough to not only play the three rounds, but also carry his bag for the three days. That seems like such a small issue, but in collegiate golf, players carry their own bags and it puts a strain on the body.
In case Boyd cannot go, the Hokies brought a sixth player on the trip. Freshman Blake Redmond is in Austin in case he needs to replace Boyd in the line-up. An interesting side note, both Boyd and Redmond are Texans. They both hail from Sugar Land, Texas, a suburb of Houston, about two and one half hours east of here. Redmond has actually played this course in the past.
The drive to the course from the hotel was a lot longer than expected. This is a very large and spread-out city and the hotel, which is about 20 minutes from campus, is 14 miles from the course.
The University of Texas Golf Club is located in the Steiner Ranch development northwest of town. Beautiful community and the facilities at the club are spectacular. Lots of stone, with a southwestern feel. They have very similar team facilities as the Hokies have at the Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech. From what I've seen on the road, the Hokies' facility stacks up with the best. One thing the Hokies have that Texas does not is the covered, heated practice tee.
The team landed safely in Austin, a few minutes early, actually. They have a very nice airport here in Texas' capital city.
We checked into the team hotel and made it across the parking lot to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. With no prodding from the coaching staff, this group actually eats a somewhat healthy diet. Salads, salmon, and pasta were the norm and no one, not even yours truly, indulged in any cheesecake.
Following dinner, there was a quick run to a nearby grocery store by staff members to get some bottled water. It will be very important to keep the players hydrated in this weather. Highs are expected in the upper 80s and lower 90s all week, something that this team has seen a lot of this season.
We'll have an early wake-up call in the morning, before our 20-30 drive out to the course. Word is its long and tough. With windy conditions expected this week, scores could be high.
I'll try and check in during the team's morning practice round and again tomorrow night, Thanks for reading the blog and I'll be back in the morning.
The first leg of the Hokies' travels is in the books, as we are sitting at the gate, waiting to board our flight from Charlotte to Austin. The team got in an early session on the range in at the River Course team facility this morning before making the trek to the Charlotte airport.
When the team arrives in Austin, it's off to check in at the hotel, then dinner. It will be an early wake up call on Wednesday, as the Hokies have an 8:40 a.m. CDT tee time in their practice round.
Check back in to hokiesports.com, as we will be blogging from Austin during the course of the tournament. If the internet connection works well, the plan is to post at times while the team is on the course, updating the "Hokie Nation" on play, as an extension of the live stats that can be linked from our website. Also, there will be the usual round-by-round recap of the team's play at the end of each day. Who knows, maybe even a photo or two.
I'll wrap this up until we get to the hotel. And as always, Go Hokies!
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