The University of Connecticut golf team enters the 2007
spring season with three proven and consistent scorers and looking for improved
performance from a talented yet inexperienced group of underclassmen.
Head Coach Ron Dubois and his Huskies are optimistic entering
the spring. The program has now had one full year of use of its indoor practice
facility and seems anxious to make the most of that outstanding resource.
The spring trip for the Huskies will provide an outstanding
mix of three days of competition, use of the world class PGA Tour Training
Facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida and play for each of the nine days on a
variety of championship class courses.
The Huskies have an ambitious spring schedule, which includes
the Treasure Coast Classic during the spring trip and returns trips to the
George Washington Invitational and the Yale Spring Opener. The tournament at
Yale is a spot that UConn has had a wide range of success in the past, including
a team championship, a second place finish and an individual medalist.
Connecticut will then head to the New England Division I Golf Championship,
looking to continue a string of top five finishes that stretches back over the
past four spring seasons. The spring schedule will wrap up with another
opportunity to compete in the always-tough BIG EAST Championship, a tournament
that will be held this season at the Cardinal Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
Individually, the Huskies will rely on several golfers this
spring, but none more that senior co-captain Jason Parajeckas (Woburn,
Mass.). Parajeckas is an All-New England and Golf Coaches’ Association of
America honoree who has captured four individual titles in his Husky career. He
averaged a career-best 72.2 this past fall and earned top ten’s in five of six
events, including medalist honors at the Rutgers Invitational, where he carded a
career-best round of 65 in the final round. Junior A.J. Siekierski (North
Grosvenordale, Conn.) is also an All-New England performer and was an individual
medalist for the Huskies at the 2005 Yale Spring Opener. He is a consistent
performer who should be among the top Husky performers this spring. Senior
co-captain Dan White (Westford, Mass) is expected to continue his steady
play and is another Husky who has tasted individual success, capturing
co-medalist honors at the 2005 Quinnipiac Invitational.
Junior Brian Travalja (Oradell, N.J.) has appeared in
29 career events and has a career low round of 66. He played in all seven events
for the Huskies last fall and will again be looked to for helpful scores in the
spring. Sophomore L.J. Tosches (Grafton, Mass.) has shown glimpses of
excellent play in his 17 career events, including a 67 at the BIG EAST/MAC
Challenge in the fall. He should be a starter and his experience should help him
gain that spot.
Junior Ryan Dandeneau (Chepachet, R.I.), sophomores Bret Siekierski
(North Grosvenordale, Conn.) and Tim Strout (Nashua, N.H.) and freshmen
Ben Estabrook (Bangor, Maine) and Derek Newman (Palatine, Ill.)
will each enter the spring working closely with swing coach Jim West to improve
their skills and course management as they look to find a spot in the lineup.