Dalton State Men's Golf Coach Ben Rickett has released the 2018 Spring schedule for the Roadrunner men. The schedule features five events that will see the Roadrunners face the top talent in the country.
"This is by far the toughest schedule that we have put together in a single season," said Coach Rickett. "We will have an opportunity to see most of the Top 25 teams this spring which we have never done and we'll have the chance to see some new places in the country."
The #2-ranked Roadrunners will begin the Spring in Florida at the Georgetown College Men's Invitational in St.
Augustine on February 19 & 20. "I always like the start in St. Augustine," said Rickett. "It gives us a chance to see a little warmer weather and hopefully get us going before we hit a difficult stretch in March."
Dalton State will get a two week break before they start a grueling three week stretch that will take them across the country, beginning with the USCB Sand Shark Classic hosted by South Carolina-Beaufort in Bluffton, SC on March 5 & 6. From there, the Roadrunners will travel to Hattiesburg, Miss. for the Carey Collegiate Classic hosted by William Carey (Miss.) on March 12 & 13. The final leg of the three week stretch will prove the most difficult with Dalton State heading to Primm, Nev. for the Battle at Primm.
"We will see the whole Sun Conference in Beaufort which is always a great challenge followed by some teams we don't often see in Hattiesburg" stated Rickett. "To finish off a difficult three week stretch we head to Primm, Nev., which is one of the strongest NAIA events in the country. This will challenge us in different conditions plus give us a little experience in an area that we haven't seen before.
The Roadrunners then have a three week break before hosting their first ever tournament, the Roadrunner Classic on April 9 & 10 at The Farm. "The most exciting part of our schedule is coming home in early April to host the Roadrunner Classic," Rickett said. "This has been something that we have worked on and thought that the timing is right to host one of the top NAIA events here in our backyard at one of the best venues around."
Coach Rickett is very excited to be able to host a home event this year saying, "I am very thankful that The Farm is allowing us to do this and excited about hosting the inaugural event this Spring. I feel that this is a great way to show off our players to the community and also gives them a chance to watch them play for two days."
The Roadrunner Classic will feature a stout field currently consisting of eight of the top 11 teams in the country. The entire field of 12 is also currently ranked in the Top 25, making the Roadrunner Classic one of the toughest and most competitive fields in the NAIA.
Dalton State will begin postseason play on April 16 in the three day Southern States Athletic Conference Championship at Arrowhead Country Club in Montgomery, Ala. The final event of the season will be the NAIA National Championship at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. on May 15-18.
FALL RECAP
The Roadrunners finished the Fall with a #2 national ranking. In four events they collected two event wins (Thomas University Fall Invitational and Bojangles Tennessee Intercollegiate) and a runner-up finish (USCB Innisbrook Invitational).
At the conclusion of the Fall, Dalton State held spots 1 thru 3 in the conference standings individually with all six ranked in the top 20.