2010-11 GOLF RECAP

A young and talented Emory golf team enjoyed a number highlights during the 2010-11 season which promise to lead to future success in upcoming campaigns.  Playing in the extremely competitive South Region, which claimed seven of the top-10 squads in Division III, the Eagles matured as the year went on and closed out ’10-11 with the following accomplishments.

* The school's ninth straight and 16th-ever bid to the NCAA D-III Championships where it posted an 8th-place finish, the first top-10 showing by the program since 2006.

* Being ranked No. 8 nationally in the final Golf World/NIKE Division III Coaches’ Poll.

* Having three players, Charles Raindre, Ryan Dagerman and Johnathan Chen earn All-America status following their efforts at the NCAA Division III Championships.

* Recording the second-lowest team scoring average in school history --  a 297.4 strokes per round average.

* Bringing home its first University Athletic Association Championship since 2008 and 13^th overall.

* Winning the Emory Spring Invitational and finishing the year with a total of six top-10 finishes in 10 tournament appearances.

* Placing two players on the PING All-Southeast Region Team, Ryan Dagerman and Johnathan Chen.

*Finishing first in the Georgia Cup standings.

* Establish team scoring records for three tournaments – The UAA Championships, Jekyll Island Invitational and the NCAA Division III Championships.

 * Placing two players on the Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar Team, Ryan Dagerman and Nick Szem.

The 2010-11 season also marked an end of an era for Emory golf as head coach Mike Phillips retired following the conclusion of the year. Phillips, the program’s only coach since its inception in 1983, saw 12 of his players earn 16 All-America berths during his tenure and was voted the UAA’s Coach of the Year on ten occasions.   The Eagles won a conference-record six consecutive UAA championships from 1995-2000 and 13 overall.

The team showed flashes of its potential in the second tournament of the fall when it placed fourth out of 21 teams at the Chick-fil-A Invitational (Oct. 4-5).  The Eagles had three representatives finish among the top 20 in the 109-player field including Tae Cho, Ryan Dagerman and Johnathan Chen who recorded fourth-, seventh- and 20^th-place efforts, respectively.

Emory got the spring portion of the schedule off on the right foot with a third-place showing out of 10 teams at the Wynlakes Wynter Nationals in Montgomery, Alabama.  Chen and Dagerman keyed the Eagles’ effort at that event by tying for third place out of 59 competitors.

In the next outing, Emory nailed down the UAA Championship at the Red Tail Course in Sorrento, Florida, with its second-day mark of 284 making up a three-shot gap after the first day of action to finish two shots ahead of runner-up Rochester.  The 284 would represent the team’s second-best round of the season and ranked fifth all-time on the Emory ladder.  The Eagles had three First Team All-UAA members, Nick Szem, Raindre and   Dagerman, while junior Mike Mullavey was a second-team honoree. 

Emory carried that momentum over to the the following week(Mar. 18-20) with a strong outing at the Jekyll Island Invitational where it came in second out of  30 teams.  Raindre keyed the Eagles’ effort at Jekyll, carding a three-under 213 (70-70—73) that ranked third out of 150 players and which also set an individual school record for a 54-hole tourney.

The Eagles won the 16-team Emory Spring Invitational out at Stone Mountain, bettering crosstown foe Oglethorpe University by three shots.  Chen took home medalist honors, pacing the 89-player pack with a two-over par 142 (73-69) which proved to be the top 36-hole score by an Emory player during the season.  The team’s No. 1 finish at the Spring Invitational enabled it to clinch the Georgia cup, breaking Oglethorpe’s 10-year run as the top finisher.

Emory finished eighth at the NCAA Championships which were held at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, NC.  The Eagles, just stroke out of seventh place and five shots from sixth, totaled a team score of 1187 which established a school record for the NCAAs.  Raindre was solid at nationals, with his 10^th-place finish good for Second Team All-America status. He finished the 72-hole test with a school-record performance of three-over 291 (70-75-71-75).  Dagerman and Chen came in 20^th and 22th, respectively, landing them Third Team All-America honors.

Individually, Ryan Dagerman concluded the year with the team's best scoring average with a school-record  74.48 strokes per-round mark.   A First Team All-University Athletic Association honoree for the third straight year, Dagerman captured Third Team All-America acclaim after tying for 20^th place at the Division III Championships. Dagerman, a member of the PING All-Southeast Region Team, shot or bettered par a team-high eight times and  registered Emory's top score in three tournaments.

After being sidelined for the majority of 2009-10 with a bout of mono, Charles Raindre came through with a big senior season.  Raindre  earned Second Team All-America honors after finishing in 10th place at the NCAA Championships. His final score of 291 at the NCAAs established a school record for that tournament, and he also posted a school record for the lowest score at a 54-hole competition when he fired a three-under 213 at the Jekyll Island Invitational.  His average of 74.76 strokes per round ranks sixth on the Eagles’ seasonal ladder. 

Johnathan Chen was a key contributor his rookie season with the Eagles, ranking second behind Dagerman in scoring average with his 74.21 strokes per round mark third on the school’s season chart and No. 1 all-time among freshmen.  Chen landed Third Team All-American kudos, the first Emory freshman to earn that distinction, after tying for 22^nd place at the NCAA Championships.  Named to the PING All-Southeast Region Team, Chen was tabbed as the region’s Rookie of the Year Award winner and ended up as the team’s top scorer in two events.  He took home the top spot at the Emory Spring Invitational with his 36-hole score of 142 (73-69) representing the best two-round performance by an Emory player during the year.

Nick Szem came through with some fine outings during the year and nabbed a First Team All-UAA berth after coming in second at the conference championship with a team-best score of one-under par 143 (77-66).  Szem’s second-day score at the UAAs was memorable in that it tied the school’s individual record for low round and was the best one-day showing ever by an Emory player at the tournament. Szem took part in 23 of the team’s 25 rounds in 2010-11 and was fourth on the team in scoring average with a 76.2 strokes per-round effort.


Honors and Awards