Sports

A special team

• The three-time NJCAA Division II golf champion Darton College Cavaliers continue to be celebrated by the city of Albany.

Scott Chancey

ALBANY — While coach Dale Dover’s Darton College’s golf team prepares to chase its fourth consecutive NJCAA Division II title this week, Albany mayor Willie Adams easily recognizes the program’s impact.

“Those three consecutive national titles, no question, bring pride and honor to the city,” he said. “We are very proud of Coach Dover and his players. He’s done an excellent job and puts Albany on the city as far as golf.”

The community support is what Dover has sought since officially taking over as coach in 2004.

“We’ve cultivated that,” Dover said. “I’ve tried to make the community feel they are a part of the team and they are. Everybody’s got a little piece of the action and that’s one of the reasons we’re so successful. I want them to be a part of it and they are and I thank them for it. The players are cordial to them. We’re sincere about the community support. We don’t take it for granted. If they ask me to do something, I do my best to do it.”

Darton already has won two individual national titles in swimming this school year (Erin Colunga, Aviv Sela), and the swimming program captured two others before this school year. The women’s soccer team reached the national championship match in 2005. Earlier in 2005, however, Dover’s golf team burst on to the scene, winning the team and individual crowns by record scores.

Now that the golf program has won three national titles in a row, Darton athletic director Michael Kiefer feels that success is good for the school in a number of ways.

“I think any time you have a program that is able to compete at the national level, that impacts all the programs at our school,” said Kiefer, who became athletic director last year. “I think people recognize Darton as a successful junior college athletic program partially because of the golf team’s success. All our coaches and students push to achieve the same success. The exposure is great, but it also pushes our programs to achieve a little more.”

Albany, known as the “City of Champions,” had mostly in the past celebrated high school titles in sports like basketball, football, track and baseball.

Four area golf courses, however, can be known as the “Courses of Champions.”

While rotating practices between Albany’s Stonebridge Golf & Country Club, Doublegate Country Club, River Pointe Golf Club and Leesburg’s Grand Island Golf Course, the Cavaliers worked on their adaptability to different course setups and layouts.

“We get to play on four really good golf courses,” Darton’s Matt Smith said. “Every golf course is a little different and you play all kinds of courses in college golf so that helps out. When we get to a course, we don’t feel ill prepared. We feel we played a course similar to that, like in the past week, so the confidence builds.”

The four club pros have seen players come and go, such as past individual national champions Brent Witcher and Bill Jones III. And each of them will be paying close attention to the webcast on the Internet (NJCAA.com), keeping up with the Cavaliers.

“I think there is more interest in the golf program and even Darton itself,” Stonebridge head pro Rob Allen said. “It brings Darton into the spotlight now.”

River Pointe Golf Club head pro Buster Clark, who coached Darton since 2000 before Dover took over, remains to be impressed at the caliber of golfers Dover brings to the two-year school. He even likes Darton’s chances this time.

“They’re going to win,” Clark said. “Why so confident? I know the guys on the team.”

Grand Island general manager Vic McKinley also sees how Darton’s success also brings attention to the four golf courses.

“It’s great for this area to be recognized as well as the college,” McKinley said. “All the golfers around here now know that Darton has a great golf team. To see Coach Dover bring in the class of players he has year after year is a really huge credit to him.”

Doublegate head pro Ed Everett even notices how Darton’s recruiting efforts have been helped by its success.

“I’ve heard of prospective players calling them, wanting to join the team, and when they are calling, you know your program has made it,” Everett said. “And the thing about Darton, their players mature and leave as better players than they were when they came.”

Everett does hold a badge of honor against Darton’s golf team. No team of older players with him on it has lost against the Cavaliers during their three titles in a row. Last week, on a private Jack Nickalus-designed course at Nonami Plantation, Everett’s team of him, Mike Cooper, Spencer Davis, Randy Alford, Clay Chester and Tom Rief edged Dover’s team by one stroke.

“We told them afterwards, ‘That’s an omen boys, you’re going to win nationals again,’ ” Everett laughed.

And while Darton does attempt to win national championship No. 4, the Cavaliers will have their share of fans back home paying close attention.

More Sports>>