(CSTV U-WIRE) SAN MARCOS, Texas -- The Texas State men and women's golf teams start off the 2007 season with expectations and anticipation, as both squads will be displaying fresh new talent.
Coach Michael Akers squad features eight new women, six of which are freshmen.
Akers is confident the young members can live up to his expectations.
"I don't feel it makes a difference if someone is a freshman or senior," Akers said. "These freshmen have played in the best junior tournaments in the U.S. and the world, so I feel they are prepared to take Texas State to the best ranking in school history. My expectations are very high for this team. We have laid out our goals for the season which include moving into the top 40 national rankings."
In addition to the freshmen, Akers has two European-born golfers.
"Linn Gustafsson hails from Sweden and Trine Mortensen comes to us from Denmark," Akers said. "They both played for their national teams, which is a huge honor as only four players from each country play in the European team championships. Both Linn and Trine will have an immediate impact on our squad as they are used to playing 36-holes in one day and also have played similar yardages that we will see in our new schedule."
The women's team begins play Sept. 10 and 11 at the Chip-N Club Invitational at the Woodland Golf Club in Lincoln, Neb. Following the tournament, they head Oct. 1 and 2 to Colbert Hills Golf Club in Manhattan, Kan. for the Marilyn Smith/Sunflower Invitational at Kansas State. The women's team finishes their fall schedule on Nov. 4 and 5 in Bastrop with the Challenge at Wolfdancer.
With all but one of their tournaments at away sites, Akers still welcomes the support of the student body and fans of the game for the Bobcats throughout their season.
"We would greatly appreciate support at our home tournament in November," Akers said. "We have teams coming from the Big 12, Big 10, ACC, C-USA and Sunbelt Conferences. The student body should be excited that we are stepping up to compete against schools from more prominent conferences."
Akers said he wanted a tough schedule to better prepare the team.
"It was very important for us to upgrade our tournament schedule," Akers said. "We began at (the) University of Nebraska, followed by K-State then to New Mexico State. We will face many Big 12 schools this season as well ... our goal is to become nationally competitive."
With half the men's team comprised of returning players, and the others freshmen, newly-appointed Coach Shane Howell didn't really know what to expect from the team.
"I was really surprised and excited to see them (play)," Howell said. "We have spots one through 11 all able to play at a high level, with spots one through seven all up for grabs. We take five spots for the road (tournaments)."
The players are experienced, as most have been playing either throughout the summer or various tournaments, some both.
"Michael Carnes played in the Collegiate Players Tournament and other tournaments in the summer as well as Tyler Barnes-Wolf, Carson Gibson and Corey Roberson," Howell said. "Corey (Roberson) set a school record here, so they all have that experience going into the season."
The competition looks formidable, as several of the Southland Conference teams will look to repeat last year's performance.
"Sam Houston was in the Top 50 last year while Lamar will definitely be a contender," Howell said. "Lamar finished 3rd last year and are in the Top 25 at the start of this year. As well, Southeastern Louisiana and UT-Arlington will be tough. But each tournament is different. Some teams are harder at one and others at another."
Howell believes the incoming freshmen have adjusted well and generally get better each week. Ultimately the goal is to win the SLC title.
"We've got to go out and beat every team," Howell said.
