Sports

Cavs: We’ll be back

• Darton’s golf team may not have won its fourth consecutive national title, but the Cavs appear ready to contend next year.

Scott Chancey

ALBANY — Darton’s golf team is back on the east coast with a newfound reflection on what it has accomplished during the past four years.

After winning NJCAA Division II titles in 2005-07 in Alabama, and placing second this year by three strokes against Tyler (Texas) Junior College in Arizona, coach Dale Dover once again has a seriously strong freshman foundation to build upon: Freshmen Evan Hanna was a First-Team All-American, Jin Chung was Second Team and sophomore Matt Smith was Honorable Mention.

In fact, all three were also chosen as PING First-Team All-Americans.

“It’s really neat,” said Smith, who is taking a bit of time off from golf after a long season and will fly to Israel today for a mission trip. “I had never been a part of something storied like that. It was an awesome experience.”

Hanna, who had not won a tournament all season, was in contention the final day for medallist honors, carding the round’s lowest score at 68.

“He had not come close all year, but I knew he was coming around,” Dover said. “I felt like playing at No. 5. would be a good choice because he had not shot a round of 77 during the regular season all year long. I was looking for consistency there. He played under the ultimate pressure, scoring that 68. On the last day of the national championship, he had a shot to win.”

Smith will play at Mercer next season, and fellow sophomores Chesley Gunn will play at Valdosta State, while Coleman Calhoun will head to Georgia Southern.

“It was nice to finish off the year, individually the way I did at the end,” said Smith, who did not compete at nationals last year. “At region and nationals, I had a chance at winning. I feel like my two years there weren’t wasted. I grew up as a person as well as my golf game. My mental game, I got a little tougher on the course, and that will serve me well in the future.”

As for the Darton golf program, Dover still sees even brighter days ahead — even if his Cavs did come up short this year.

“We’ve come a long way,” he said. “In 2002, we finished like 14th in the nation. In 2003, we were 10th. And we blew up in 2004 (finishing fifth). And we just gradually built upon that. I went to the tournaments and found players we thought we could develop. I was fortunate I found good layers who we could tweak a little.”

The result was impressive finishes like Hanna’s. Ryan Parker, who played as the fifth seed in 2005-06, was an honorable mention All-American his freshman year and first-team All-American the next.

“Evan has been a hard worker,” Dover began, “and that was a big reason he was where he was.

“He put in the time and work. Some didn’t work as hard, although they may have had more talent.”

As the program moves forward, Dover will always look back on the Cavaliers’ amazing three-year.

“I had to be special,” Dover said. “To win one, you have to be lucky and good. To win three, you have to be especially lucky and good. And we almost got lucky again, didn’t we? We almost got lucky again. We’ve won seven region titles in a row. We have some good golfers potentially coming in next season, so maybe we can come back and be good again for the next couple of years.”

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