MONMOUTH, Ill. — When we last left the Monmouth College men’s golf team, it was a very cloudy day. But the weather outside did not match the Fighting Scots’ spirits, which were bright and sunny thanks to their first-place finish at the rain-shortened Midwest Conference Championships, where Monmouth defeated eight-time defending champion Knox by two strokes.

The forecast for 2003 calls for another heavy dose of Monmouth and Knox battling on the links, and if things fall into place, the MWC champs will be reigning in Monmouth on May 10.

The Scots will certainly know where they stand entering the MWC Championships on May 9-10, as they’ll see the Prairie Fire at least eight times this season. Monmouth coach Dave Ragone is hopeful that his squad has what it takes to douse the Fire again.

“Experience is the big key for us,” said Ragone, who welcomes back All-MWC golfer Jeff Sobotta, along with standouts such as junior Chad Scott and senior Mike Ranallo. “Consistency is our theme. We’d like everybody to shoot 80 or below.”

Jeff Sobotta

Ragone is certainly not asking the impossible, as five MC golfers carded identical 79s in the Scots’ victory at the Monmouth Invitational last season.

While Ranallo won the team’s spring break competition in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Sobotta is the lone team member to boast individual MWC hardware, Ragone feels that Scott is the team’s top player.

“Chad’s looked real good so far,” said the third-year coach. “He has a very good all-around game. He’s the real deal.”

While not as flashy, Ranallo epitomizes the team’s pursuit of consistency.

“Mike’s not a long hitter, but he hits a lot of fairways and a lot of greens,” Ragone commented.

Sobotta, who carded an 81 in the only round of the conference meet to tie for fifth, is part of a group of seniors that also includes Ranallo, Matt Dutz and Matt Mabee. The team also includes junior, Alan Sullivan, sophomores, Luke Colletti and Matt Hawkins and freshmen Anthony Sarfino, A.J. Bartoluzzi, Jeff Malek and Mike Wilmoth.

Ragone is high on Malek, who he says is “a pretty long hitter, who hits a lot of greens. When his putting is on, he can go very low.”

In its first outdoor action of the season, the team averaged 320.5 strokes per round in Myrtle Beach, with a low round of 304. Despite the lack of course time, Ragone, who also coaches the offensive line of the MC football team, has been working his team hard, putting the 12-man squad through weightlifting and cardiovascular workouts since Feb. 1.

“We’re fortunate to host two 10-team tournaments this year, so we’re going to field ‘Red’ and ‘White’ teams for both of those,” said Ragone. Those events, which will both be held at Monmouth’s Gibson Woods Gold Course, will be held April 3 and April 19.

Another schedule highlight occurs April 22, when the team plays at the TPC of Michigan in Dearborn, which annually hosts the Ford Seniors Players Championship. Monmouth has 1949 alumnus Harold “Red” Poling, the former CEO of Ford Motor Company, to thank for that invitation.

Of course, the main event of the golf season is the MWC Championships, which will again be held at the Aldeen Golf Club in Rockford.

“Lawrence has some good players returning, but for the most part, it should be a two-team battle,” said Ragone. “Winning conference is our No. 1 goal.”

Last year’s championship was Monmouth’s first since re-instating golf as a varsity sport in 2000. The Scots had last won an MWC golf title in 1981.

Men's Golf