PREVIEW: Hoek ready to lead his alma mater back to the top

MITCHELL, S.D. – There will be a plethora of new faces for the Dakota Wesleyan University men's and women's golf teams this fall, but the newest face will include head coach Tom Hoek. The De Smet, S.D., native was a member of the 2008 Great Plains Athletic Conference Championship team for the Tigers, and he looks to lead both teams back to the winning ways he was accustomed to.

 Hoek will look to the experience of his upperclassmen to help lead the young and talented Tiger rosters. Out of the 18 golfers out this season, 11 of them come in as true freshmen. However, the numbers will not be something to worry about this season.

 "We have an incredible talent pool of players who have a phenomenal work ethic and some freshmen who bring depth and are making an impact in fall camp," Hoek said. "I am really impressed with the attitudes and mental approach we have established at each practice."

 The lone senior on the men's squad this season will be Kimball, S.D., native, Russel Pick. He started last season with a bang as he took second place at the Mount Marty Invite in the first tournament. Pick continued that success throughout the season as he concluded the season with five top-20 finishes.

 Connor Preston (Aberdeen, S.D.) will be another golfer with experience that Hoek will look upon to help lead the team. Preston had a breakout freshman season after finishing the GPAC Championship with a 13^th-place finish. Preston finished his best round at the Mount Marty Fall Invite with a third-place finish.

 Mitchell, S.D., native, Ryker Kreutzfeldt and Jayden Engels (Watertown, S.D.) will be two other key players for the Tigers this season.

 "With only four returning players from last year's squad we will be looking for some of the incoming freshmen to step up right away," Hoek said of his team. "Russell Pick and Connor Preston are guys that can go out and win a tournament on any given day and they bring a high level of competitiveness to this group. Ryker Kreutzfeldt and Jayden Engels are also two guys that we can rely on scoring consistently. With a talent-loaded freshman class we will look to these four guys to raise the bar high as we create a highly competitive culture."

 Justice Morrison (Norris, S.D.) will be one of the freshman that Hoek will look to compete immediately for the Tigers. He finished as the South Dakota Class "B" State Golf Tournament Runner-Up in 2016 and holds the White River High School records for most individual wins with six.  

Expectations are always high with the DWU golf teams, but with the recent success, the goals only get higher. At the GPAC Championship last spring, the Tigers took third as some returning golfers showed some promising play. Preston finished tied for 13^th and Pick finished tied for 17^th.

 "The expectations for the men's team is to win a conference championship, just like everyone else in the GPAC," Hoek commented. "I think we have a group of guys who can go out and put some low numbers on the scoreboard. It will just depend on how we handle adversity and mental aspect of our game."

 For the women's golf team, restoring the program to where it has been in recent years is the key. With a young, talented group with no seniors, this might be the season for making progress towards those goals. Some golfers that will be looked upon include Niki Nelson (Platte, S.D.), Emily Sharkey (Upton, Wyo.) and Madison VanWalleghen (Letcher, S.D.).

 Nelson finished her freshman season tied for 15^th at the GPAC Fall Qualifier. She will look to build off her freshman season and help lead the Tigers. Sharkey finished her first season with three top-40 finishes. Her best finish came at the GPAC Spring Qualifier with a four-day total of 414.

 VanWalleghen will be counted on as a leader as she is the only junior on the team. She collected two 27^th-place finishes last season at the Northwestern College/Dordt College Invite and at the Morningside Spring Invite.

 "With no seniors on the team, we will look to Niki Nelson, Emily Sharkey and Madison VanWalleghen to lead the women's team and begin the process of restoring the program back to the top of the GPAC," Hoek said of his women's golf team.

 Some new faces that will look to make an immediate impact for the Tigers will be Skylar Brunk (Lee's Summit, Mo.), Brooke Ehlers (Worthing, S.D.) and Kaleigh Erdahl (Plankinton, S.D.).

 Brunk finished her high school career with a sixth-place finish at the state golf meet. She was named All-Conference and All-District four times, and was a four-time individual state qualifier. Ehlers improved each year of her high school career as she took third place at the South Dakota Class "B" State Tournament her senior season. Erdahl tallied a third-place finish at regions her senior year. Each freshman comes in with experience and will bring a competitive edge to the Tiger squad this season.

 "With a full women's roster this year we look to improve on last year's finish in the GPAC tournament and gain more experience to be competitive and reach our goals," Hoek said.

 As the season progresses, Hoek hopes that the experience gained will become vital for both teams, and they can translate the experience into wins later in the season.

 "Our major challenge this year is going to be some of our inexperience and our mental approach to each tournament," Hoek said. "As we gain valuable experience and competition, our potential will transform into success. Through that experience, our mental fortitude will be stronger as we head into the GPAC Qualifiers."

 The season begins for the women's golf team on Thursday at the Mount Marty Invite at the Fox Run Golf Course and the Hillcrest Country Club in Yankton, S.D. For the men's team, they kick the season off at the Midland Invite at the Oakland Golf Course in Oakland, Neb.