Junior Joe Atkisson, an NCAA Midwest Regional qualifier from last season, headlines the returning players on the UMSL men's golf team. (Photo by Danny Reise)
The 2012 University of Missouri–St. Louis men’s golf season teed off on Sept. 9 with a win over Maryville University (Town and Country, Mo.) to retain the Arch Cup. UMSL returned four players from last year’s squad and will once again be under the direction Troy Halterman, in his fourth year as the program’s head coach.
Headlining the returners is junior Joe Atkisson, an NCAA Midwest Regional qualifier from last season. Atkisson, who also garnered all-conference and all-region honors in his sophomore campaign, posted a team-best scoring average of 75.88 one year ago, while recording six top-10 finishes.
Other returners include seniors John Neis and Chase Smith and sophomore Cullen Pearce.
Neis posted a scoring average of 79.54 in 11 tournaments, while Smith posted a scoring average of 79.05, playing in eight tournaments. Pearce played in seven tournaments as a freshman, recording a scoring average of 77.65.
Halterman also welcomes the return of veteran junior Justin Hyun, a member of the 2010-11 squad, as well as the addition of three true freshmen and one transfer.
David Abolt, Anthony Cope and Colby Yates are all in their first year of collegiate golf, while junior Warren Crow comes to UMSL from William Woods University (Fulton, Mo.).
Abolt earned a second place Missouri Class 2 finish as a senior at Cuba (Mo.) High School, while Cope helped Kristin School (Auckland, New Zeland) to back-to-back titles in the New Zealand Secondary School Nationals.
Yates was a four-year Kansas Class 4A state medalist at Tonganoxie (Kan.) High School, including the individual state champion as a senior. Crow prepped at Oakville (Mo.) High School, where he was a two-time Missouri all-state honoree.
UMSL will compete in five tournaments during the fall, including the Midwest Regional, Oct. 22-23, which the Tritons will host at Aberdeen Golf Club in Eureka.
The spring portion of the schedule will begin Feb. 17 at the Frito Lay Taco Bell Intercollegiate in Philadelphia, Miss. The Tritons also have five other tournaments on the schedule, including the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships, April 21-23 in Columbus, Ind.
