UConn Golfers begin the spring season in BIG EAST Match Play

UConn Athletic Communications / February 5, 2023

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. The UConn men’s golf team begins its 2022-23 schedule with the spring BIG EAST Match Play on Monday and Tuesday at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach. Fla.

Golf teams from UConn, Butler, DePaul and St. John’s will compete in the event, which is in its second year, will use a match play format and give four teams strong competition before spring tournament schedules begin. UConn won the event last year, posting an 11-3-4 overall record over top-ranked Seton Hall, Creighton and Butler.

“We are excited to play in this event,” UConn Coach Dave Pezzino said. “It gives us a chance to see who we are now, one through seven. We’ve been working hard at Chris Cote’s (Portland) facility and our own Marks Center (Storrs) and I’m looking forward to seeing it. the work pays off.”

Huskies are led by a graduate student Jared Nelson (Rutland, Vt.), who was the team’s leading scorer (69.9 per round) during the fall schedule. Juniors also participate in the Match Play for the Huskies event Tommy Dallahan (71.9), junior Jimmy Paradise (72.7), as a sophomore Trevor Lopez (74.2), as a second student Eric Boulger (79.0), freshman Connor Goode (77.3) and freshman Colin Spencer (74.9).

The match play format is not the norm during the regular season, but it will come into play in the post-golf season.

“I like to mix up the matchups because the (NCAA) championship finals are matchups,” Pezzino said.

Mostly, though, the event is about getting the team back on track in a competitive environment after a three-month break.

“This gives our guys a chance to show maturity to the end of the lineup, to understand that one bad swing doesn’t end the inning,” Pezzino said. “They can make a mistake and it doesn’t cost them the whole tournament. We’re looking for guys to put in a big effort over the next couple of days. We’re looking for positives from everybody.”

After the BIG EAST Match Play, the Huskies will compete in five tournaments before the BIG EAST Tournament in late April.

“We want to build toward a peak in late May,” Pezzino said, “and this is just the beginning of that.”